Earlier today (keep in mind the Koreas are 13 hours ahead of the US east coast), South Korea was a victim of a?major cyber attack. The biggest victims were two major S. Korean banks, three major S. Korean TV stations and LG Uplas, an Internet service provider. Much of the country literally had to be shut down.
Immediately, N. Korea is the main culprit. They were believed to be behind two major cyber attacks in 2009 and 2011. Both targeted S. Korea government, media and banking. You need all of those institutions just to carry out daily life. Look at this last attack. At the banks, people didn’t have access to their own money. Journalists said they couldn’t get important stories on the air. And a time of increasing tensions, media is critical. And we all know where law and order is broken down, that just gives the enemy an open chance to strike. And we all use the Internet to do just about anything these days.?When all these systems are broken down, chaos usually follows. Thank goodness it didn’t this time.
Why do I even report on the Koreas? What does this have to do with us in the good old USA? In the last several weeks, N. Korea has turned the rhetoric up against?America just like with their neighbors. And now they’re suspected of cyber attacking S. Korea? Think about how easy it would be to start conflicts, riots and chaos if?all systems are shut down. The scary part is how easy it is to shut an entire nation down. If N.?Korea allegedly?did this to?S. Korea,?what’s next? Don’t ever think America is too high and mighty that this can’t happen to us. Another reason I address this: Is?to ask what can we do to prevent a major cyber attack?