North Korea ‘Uses Troll Army For Attacks On South’

North Korea is using an army of 200 trolls and 3,000 cyber security experts to undermine and attack South Korean organisations.

That’s according to a South Korean think tank, the Police Policy Institute, which told the Chosun Ilbo newspaper the cyber security experts were building malware, whilst the trolls were busy posting comments on well-known portals in attempts to sway opinion in favour of the North.

North Korea trolling

Agents based out of the United Front Department and the Reconnaissance General Bureau used stolen credentials to post on South Korean websites, according to Ryu Dong-ryul of the Police Policy Institute.

In 2011, North Korean agents posted over 27,000 messages, designed to turn people against the South. That went up to 41,373 in 2012, the institute claimed.

The North’s cyber army was trying to unblock access to pro-North Korean sites in the South, the think tank said.

“This is a perfect illustration of the ability of anyone with a connection to the Internet to use it for asymmetric warfare,” said Philip Lieberman, CEO of Lieberman Software Corporation.

“As a nation state, North Korea is projecting its power and influence in all ways available to it.  This is not dissimilar to all other countries with cyber-warfare capabilities worldwide.”

North Korea was accused of carrying out numerous attacks on its neighbour this year, including malware infections at TV broadcasters and banks.

In July, South Korea claimed it had fresh evidence indicating North Korea was responsible for denial of service attacks on government-owned websites, which coincided with the 63rd anniversary of the Korean War on 25 June.

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