As US President Donald Trump met North Korean leader Kim Jong UN in Hanoi, Vietnam this week, the world expected a peace between the two leaders. Though all seems to be well as of now, they are high-level chances that things might turn bitter after a few days of the meeting. Remember, this was the second time for the leaders to meet on a personal note after the Singapore summit which took place in June last year.
While keeping aside the political developments, National security and Cybersecurity experts around the world say that the biggest threat from North Korea after the meet( if in case things turn negative) will be cyber attacks and not the nukes.
American Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike which releases a global cyber threat report each year has specifically mentioned in its latest that North Korea has turned into a growing cyber threat to the entire world.
“Be it Ransomware or DDoS attacks, the nation’s cyber army is well capable to launch devastating attacks on the west”, says the report.
Furthermore, security experts from CrowdStrike say that Ransomware attacks are now acting as fundraisers for the vision of Kim for his future regime.
According to CrowdStrike, North Korea has so far involved in state-sponsored tactics, techniques, and procedures to promote alarming trends. And if at all tensions rise between the two nations, Kim Jong will definitely capitalize on cyber warfare than the usual nukes to down the nation led by Trump.
In the 2019 report released in Feb this year, Crowdstrike mentions that there has been a 25% increase in targeted intrusion activity. And mind you, the said security company is not the only one to conclude the same.
The Asian Institute for Policy Studies came to a similar conclusion in its recent security report titled “The Evolution of North Korean Cyber Threats”. The research clearly mentions in the report that over 7K hackers being funded by North Korean intelligence are being involved in various activities which include theft, denial of service attacks, espionage, and sabotage. And most of the attacks were for financial gains and only a few were conducted for political benefits.
Moreover, the attacks are being carried out with so much sophistication that it has become extremely difficult for companies or governments entities to realize when they are being attacked and difficult to trace those responsible for the infiltration.
Crowdstrike research says that healthcare firms and federal agencies are the top two targets of cyber criminals and US Government entities are woefully unprepared for cyber attacks.
So, the government entities all over the world, especially those in the United States should take adequate measures or else be ready to face serious consequences on financial and on national security note.
