Tag: cyberwarfare

Analysts Believe North Korea May Have Been Behind WannaCry Cyberattack

Via a reader link comes speculation that the recent massive global cyberattack may have been a North Korean operation:

The WannaCry ransomware that attacked computers in 150 countries has lines of code that are identical to work by hackers known as the Lazarus Group, according to security experts. The Lazarus hackers have been linked to North Korea, raising suspicions that the nation could be responsible for the attack.

The connection was made by Google security researcher Neel Mehta, who pointed out similarities between WannaCry and malware used by Lazarus, the group that’s been blamed for the Sony Pictures hack of 2014 and for stealing millions of dollars from a Bangladeshi bank in 2016.

After Mehta highlighted the elements in the code, other researchers confirmed similarities that early versions of WannaCry (also called WannaCrypt, Wana Decryptor or WCry) shared with malware tools used by Lazarus.  [NPR]

You can read more at the link, but I can easily see this cyberattack as something the Kim regime would do.  With that said when I read about the cyberattack the first thing I thought was I was glad I use an Apple computer.  😉

Army May Relax Weight Standards for Cyber Warriors

I do not understand why these people are not just hired as contractors or DA civilians?

Patriotic hackers, your big belly may no longer hinder national security.

Over 70 percent of Americans between ages 17 and 24 can’t become soldiers, the U.S. Army reports, because of three big issues: obesity, lack of education, and criminal records. Overweight problems are growing the fastest of all with around a quarter of teens and young adults qualifying as obese, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Weight issues result in 18 percent of military recruiting disqualifications but the number is rising and expected to hit 25 percent by 2025.

The situation is particularly harrowing when it comes to cyberwarfare, one of the crucial military arenas of the 21st century. So in response to the great fattening of America’s potential cybersoldiers, the U.S. Army may relax physical requirements in order to recruit the very best. (Daily Dot)

You can read more at the link.