http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200801/200801020007.html Jan. 2, 2008 South Korean military security authorities have sounded an urgent alert over China-based hackers persistently seeking access to computers belonging to South Korean soldiers. Some soldiers' private information, not military secrets, has already been leaked in such an attack. While the South Korean military has its own closed computer network, it also uses the open Internet for some activities. Authorities are trying to find out if some soldiers and officers are carelessly keeping secret military information on non-secure computers. According to authorities on Tuesday, hackers believed to be operating from China have been seeking access to South Korean soldiers' computers by sending e-mails infected with hacking viruses to their private e-mail accounts. An officer with the Defense Security Command said, "As Chinese hackers have several times sought access to our soldiers' computers, we have issued an alert to military units nationwide." The hackers have reportedly attempted their cyberattacks after downloading e-mail addresses of South Korean servicemembers listed on portals or on websites of military units and veterans associations. The e-mails are reportedly entitled "Current State of the North Korean Army's Capabilities" in Korean to pique the curiosity of South Korean soldiers and officers. Military security authorities have traced the hackers to China, but have so far failed to learn if they are ordinary Chinese citizens or servicemembers in the Chinese military. In 2000, China launched NET Force, a military unit tasked with conducting mock exercises for launching cyberattacks and distributing harassing information. About one million civilian hackers, called "red hackers," are reportedly engaged in various kinds of hacking activities in China. __________________________________________________________________ Visit InfoSec News http://www.infosecnews.org/
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