As tensions on the Korean peninsula continue to escalate with new threats of nuclear war coming from North Korea almost daily, Anonymous Korea, a hacktivist organization affiliated with Anonymous, has decided that now is a good time to launch an operation to oust North Korean leader Kim Jung-un. Anonymous is known for making cyber-attacks against organizations and governments that they view as obstructions to equality, freedom and democracy. In the past they have targeted organizations such as the Westborough Baptist Church and the Federal Bureau of investigation.
“We demand: N.K. government to stop making nukes and nuke-threats, Kim Jong-un to resign, it’s time to install a free direct democracy in North Korea, uncensored internet access for all the citizens!” Anonymous Korea announced in their first release. In the same release the group claimed responsibility for cyber-attacks on several North Korean websites as well as stealing 15,000 passwords for accounts on Uriminzokkiri.com, a North Korean propaganda website.
The most ambitious claim of the Anonymous North Korea is that they have found a way to connect the real Internet to the North’s isolated Internet server, Kwangmyong, that North Korean citizens have access to. If successful, the act does have the potential to lead a popular movement from within North Korea, however the ability of the group to actually accomplish such a goal is speculative.
“We have a few guys on the ground who managed to bring the real Internet into the country using a chain of long distance WiFi repeaters with proprietary frequencies, so they’re not jammed (yet),” Anonymous wrote in their seond release, responding to questions of how they would accomplish such a goal. “We also have access to some N.K. phone landlines which are connected to Kwangmyong through dial-ups. Last missing piece of puzzle was to interconnect the two networks, which those guys finally managed to do. We still have many problems with this: the whole chain of connections is slow and unstable and the devices connected to the phone landlines are rapidly detected and removed by N.K. authorities.”
Anonymous is not the only party to the Korean conflict online. On April 10 the South Korean government officially blamed the North for cyber-attack that crippled three broadcasters, three banks and several government websites March 20 and 26. The attacks show that ability of North Korean hackers has advanced since their last major cyber-attack in 2009.
The cyber skirmishes underscore the growing tension on Korean peninsula. In response to the yearly military training exercises between United States and South Korea, North Korea successfully completed their third nuclear test. The test in turn drew the United Nations to impose more sanctions on the isolated country. In turn North Korea has stepped up their incendiary rhetoric and taken actions to break ties with the South.
April 3, North Korea blocked South Koreans from entering the Kaesong Industrial Complex. The complex is a jointly run zone that allows South Korean companies to hire North Korean workers. North Korea has since then withdrawn the 53,000 North Korean workers from the complex on April 8 effective suspending any production. While the North has closed Kaesong to protest U.N. sanctions before, it has never remained closed this long. About 300 South Koreans remain in the complex as of April 11 according to a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap.
North Koreaalso moved two Musudan missiles to its east coast and has prepared to launch them. Musudan missiles have the second longest range in the North’s arsenal capable of hitting all of Japan and can reach as far as Guam. The widely anticipated missile test and how to deal with the continued North Korean threats are high on the agenda for the talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, reported Yonhap.
Anonymous Korea has announced a second attack on the North Korean websites if Kim Jong-un doesn’t step down by April 19.
