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North Korean Hackers Rival CIA?

Bitchslap_69 writes "According to a report in the South Korean paper Cho Sun Ilbo, North Korea 'employs 500-600 hackers who are tasked with hacking into computer networks and disabling enemy command and communication systems.' The person making this claim is Dr. Byeon Jae-jeong of the South Korean Defense Ministry's Agency for Defense Development (ADD). He claims the DPRK hackers to be 'equal to that of the CIA,' whatever that might mean."

521 comments

  1. Sure, maybe the CIA by dtfinch · · Score: 4, Funny

    But what about the NSA?

    1. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by Tarcastil · · Score: 3, Funny

      There's no such agency. ;)

    2. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by Triumph+The+Insult+C · · Score: 4, Funny

      NSA, those goofballs? how about the DISA, NIMA, or even S(*&LKJ()&* The United States is a wonderful country. I am proud to be an American and will protect my country as best as I can

      --
      vodka, straight up, thank you!
    3. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by thensa · · Score: 1

      Yes?

    4. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can understand the concern over storing deleted email. But, keeping caches of web content is a bad thing? Some (like me) would argue that deleting old, cached content would be analogous to burning books. The more history, the better if you ask me.

    5. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by datadriven · · Score: 1

      Maybe they can hack better, but if you put them in the same room who would walk out?

    6. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by fadethepolice · · Score: 0

      NSA just human. I taught a bunch of their techs to build their first AM/FM radio in college, and my buddy Harry works for them. I know more about electronics than Harry.

    7. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by shaitand · · Score: 1

      Entrapment is only illegal if done by an officer of the state. Private corporations and citizens can entrap one another all day long AFAIK.

    8. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by kz45 · · Score: 1

      Amen. My newest project (shameless plug [moviesmademe.com]) is still small in terms of popularity, but I receive numerous "why does this look weird / not work in IE" messages regardless. Trying to explain to people that the site is standards compliant and that IE doesn't properly support standards is somewhere in the range of explaining the laws of physics in terms of how much people grasp the concept.

      that's kind of like someone wondering if your movie is in DVD and telling them they need to get a laserdisc player because it's the standard.

      changes don't happen overnight. Right now, most people are using Internet Explorer whether you like it or not, so it is the de facto standard.

      If you actually wanted a lot of people to come to your site, you would tailor it to IE first and make it for firefox and the rest of the browsers after.

      so in actuality, you should be blamed for a person's web experience to your website, because you are not following the de facto standard.

    9. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by ToasterofDOOM · · Score: 1

      or our favorite Jiff-canoe (jfccnw or something)

      --
      I am Spartacus
    10. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by kurzweilfreak · · Score: 1

      None, they're hackers. Why would they go outside?

      --

      kurzweil_freak

      5th Kyu Genbukan Ninpo/KJJR student

      Be the darkness that allows the light to shine.

    11. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      DISA - ru fscking kidding me?

      And by the way, moron, NIMA has been NGA for quite some time, and they do fscking maps and imagery, not hacking

      what an idiot; how appropriate for someone who feels compelled to strut their patriotism (as well as their ignorance) on /.

    12. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by coopex · · Score: 1

      I lost all illusions at the NSA's coolness when the recruiter came to UIUC. I fully expected some badass in an immaculate suit with sunglasses and an earpiece, generally looking badass. Instead they send some nerd. That was the day I knew that the terrorists had won.

      --
      The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
    13. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by GISGEOLOGYGEEK · · Score: 1

      But will you ever learn what the real threats to the USA are? ... Or will you continue to allow your president and your media to lie to you and rule you using fear over the false threats?

      ah Boo! ... better go buy more duct tape!

      --
      George Bush + Linux = "I will not let information get in the way of the fight against Windows"
    14. Re:Sure, maybe the CIA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      With some creative settings on your internet connection and the ability to "finger" in special ways, you may just find that some attacks that appear to come from Korea actually come from
      Washington D.C.. If "moderator" wishes for proof, it can be provided.

  2. ADD? by roach2002 · · Score: 5, Funny

    An acronym of ADD could lead to great jokes about... ... hey wanna go ride bikes?

    1. Re:ADD? by roach2002 · · Score: 5, Funny

      There are 2 types of people on earth, those with ADD

    2. Re:ADD? by Deltaspectre · · Score: 0

      You're right, I can't wait to make up a witty joke because ADD means Agency for Defense Developement and ... ... Wanna play Quake?

      --
      My UID is prime... is yours?
    3. Re:ADD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look, I don't think you should be making fun of people with ADD. ADD can be a highly disabilitating disease... ooooooooooooh BRIGHT SHINY!

    4. Re:ADD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What does the "A" stand for..?

    5. Re:ADD? by obi-1-kenobi · · Score: 1

      and those with ADHD ;) *wonders off*

      --
      "You win again Gravity!" -Futurama (Zapp)
    6. Re:ADD? by ducktapeducktape · · Score: 1

      There is no such thing as ADD anymore. Its name was changed to "attention deficit with hyperactivity disorder without hyperactivity" or something like that. Its new name is pointless and redundant.

      --
      "I want two balls of glue to be my friends..." -Gir
    7. Re:ADD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately, all it takes for ??AA is having an employee or an "unrelated" person to download the file to produce the proof.

    8. Re:ADD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and those with ADHD ;) *wonders off*

      What an appropriate pun. Beatiful.

    9. Re:ADD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're not.

      But not because of your mental state; because a prima facie infringement suit requires a copyrighted work, and an unauthorized act of infringement.

      The elements of an infringement action are:
      1) A copyrighted work
      2) Where the plaintiff has the relevant copyright (or can bring the suit, at least)
      3) And where the defendant did something that was unauthorized by the relevant rightsholder, and which is infringing.

      If the plaintiff can show all of these, he wins, unless the defendant can put up a successful defense, or can show that one of those elements above isn't properly met.

      What the defendant thought is not on the list!

      If it were, it would say something like 'the defendant negligently did something,' etc. In copyright, doing it is enough.

    10. Re:ADD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Haha, amazing that this post got an Interesting mod. Only thing interesting here is what the moderator might be smoking?

    11. Re:ADD? by ezzzD55J · · Score: 1
      They could give the money back, but it would probably take days to locate individual donors. Because no one would get reimbursed for the time it takes to locate donors (if they can be found at all), the volunteers would essentially be working against the original intent for which the money was given. Perhaps the money could be used to set up a trust for a scholarship fund. If the trust was set up properly, with the appropriate oversight, it could be a perpetual source of fund for students entering the computer science field. Now who wants more computer scientists? Anyone?
      This posting appears in the linuxfund story, and in the north korean hackers rival cia story.. i wonder wtf is going on.
    12. Re:ADD? by bladesjester · · Score: 1

      What I love is the fact that something blatantly off-topic is modded insightful. If one of us make a comment that one of the mods doesn't like, they try to use the overrated or offtopic mods, but this gets modded up.

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
    13. Re:ADD? by iwan-nl · · Score: 1

      I think the script that reposts these comments has been enhanced to mod them up too.

      --
      I'm trying to improve my English. Please correct me on any spelling/grammar errors in this post.
    14. Re:ADD? by jallen02 · · Score: 1

      We ARE joking about ADD here. Perhaps someone with a weird sense of humor posted something from the wrong forum due to a deficit in their attention span. Maybe a moderator even got the joke and is screwing with you guys?

      Jeremy

    15. Re:ADD? by hawk · · Score: 1

      It wouldn't be the first time that articles appeared in the wrong thread; that seems fairly common.

      I don't recall them appearing in multiple threads from the glitch, however.

      Maybe the article ID numbers and times could provide a hint.

      hawk

    16. Re:ADD? by alienw · · Score: 1

      yhbt

    17. Re:ADD? by jd · · Score: 1
      Slashdot II - The Curse Of The Dupe Replies!


      You thought it was safe to go back into the weblog... A Spielberg thriller in cinemas near you!


      I don't know if the Slash engine uses serial numbers for posts, or hashes, but if it is the latter, it is possible that we're seeing evidence of hash collisions where the last post of that hash is shown in all instances.


      Alternatively, since MySQL uses flatfile databases for the underlying tables, and since BerkleyDB does use hashtables, it may be an obscure bug in the database engine itself. Slashdot probably pushes the database far more severely than any "sane" QA process, so may well uncover problems that simply don't appear elsewhere.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    18. Re:ADD? by kosmicki · · Score: 1

      I call it ADD. I see no need for another syllable. It is a pointless name. It's worse if it happens to an adult, then they can't call it ADD. It's AADHD. If you have ADD and you are an adult, it's goddamn obvious you have adult ADhD.

    19. Re:ADD? by bladesjester · · Score: 1

      Actually, they've been running rampant in most of the stories for the last few days.

      It's really rather annoying.

      --
      Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
    20. Re:ADD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can moderate however you want. You do get mod points by posting... so use them and quit complaining.

    21. Re:ADD? by ducktapeducktape · · Score: 1

      I agree with you. That is why I said the new name is pointless and redundant.

      --
      "I want two balls of glue to be my friends..." -Gir
  3. a few questions by appleLaserWriter · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. how does north korea get any bandwidth? Do they cross connect with china?
    2. what good do mad hacking skills do you when you've just been assigned farm duty?
    3. How can you hack with out access to doritos and pepsi?

    1. Re:a few questions by Yumi+Saotome · · Score: 1

      4. How do they train these hackers? Even the privileged N. Korean students don't learn anything at all about the internet, for fear of western subversion.

      5. Kim-Jong Il trusts 600 N. Koreans with the internet even though the last I heard, he was the only one with access to it in N. Korea?

    2. Re:a few questions by damsa · · Score: 3, Informative
      North Koreans go abroad to study. Japan is especially popular. I've heard of North Koreans in US schools. But not sure if it is just a rumor.

      How can Kim Jong Il be the only one with internet in North Korea, what about the sysadmin. Or what about the nerdy North Korean teenager that comes in and cleans out his spyware. Or how can he Pwn in Star Craft without internet. I guess he can go to Lan Parties, but that gets old, especially when your Monitor is like 1000 pounds.

    3. Re:a few questions by Nazmun · · Score: 1

      South korea is where the net gamers are... north korea is like broken down tech deprived and just awful... ugh... fucken jungles.

      --
      Hmmm... Pie...
    4. Re:a few questions by keyboardkungfu · · Score: 1

      but... they are so good at awping. if counter-strike was real.. all of korea would rule the world!

    5. Re:a few questions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "25 million megabytes of memory"

      man, just when i thought 2 gigs was a lot...

    6. Re:a few questions by hhawk · · Score: 1

      This is a country with 100,000 special force troops.. and with a fairly good athletics; when they put their minds to something they do have the dollars.

      They kidnapped Japanese people and brought them there so they could train their spies how to fit into Japanese society.

      If they wanted, they could certainly kidnap some hackers from Germany, China or elsewhere..

      Or if geeks do as geeks are, promising them some hot Korean Babes the hackers might come for free, as it were...

      --
      http://www.hawknest.com/
    7. Re:a few questions by Felinoid · · Score: 1

      3 Green tea and ramen are effective alternitives to doritos and pepsi.
      (Speaking from experence)

      2 Automated farm equipment. Back in the 1980s somebody connected a Commodore 64 to a milking system to automate it.

      1 Umm yeah. AoL cds and long distence phone calls?

      --
      I don't actually exist.
    8. Re:a few questions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What makes you think you need a LOT of bandwidth to hack? If you recall, all it takes is a phone call.

  4. This just in, North Korea has an army too! by l33t-gu3lph1t3 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    My God folks, how is this news? Is anyone really surprised that a militant nation engages in information warfare?

    --
    ------- "From bored to fanboy in 3.8 asian girls" ----------
    1. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by dtfinch · · Score: 1

      Soon they'll be launching a giant tinfoil satellite to focus the sun's rays.

    2. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Rapsey · · Score: 1

      Are you talking about US or South Korea?

    3. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by revscat · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Gotta keep the population a'skeered so that they'll support at them beelyuns in military spending. Hell no it ain't news. It's obvious. It's also probably a boldfaced lie. Getting truth out of the military is like squeezing blood from a turnip.

    4. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by toddbu · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Don't say this too loud. I live in the Seattle area and know a guy in the storage locker business. A few years back when it was reported that N. Korea had a missle that *might* reach the U.S., he suddenly got flooded with requests for storage space from people wanting to move out of the area quickly. Many of them reported concern that we might get nuked real soon. While this might not necessarily be a bad thing if they took out Fremont, I seriously doubt that it would happen in my lifetime. It's really kind of funny when you think about it - there's the Cascadia Subduction Zone just off the Washington coast just waiting to deliver a magnitude 9.0 quake to this region and these guys are worried about N. Korea. I don't get why people worry about remote possibilities when there are real threats just around the corner.

      --
      If you don't want crime to pay, let the government run it.
    5. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dear Dr Obedience Oleweh

      I am Mr Lyman from Linux Credit Card. Recently the business was closed due to an unfortunate incident, leaving 126,000 (ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY SIX THOUSAND) US DOLLAR in the account.
      I cannot get these funds to their ritghful owners as I am listed as the official company solicitor. Therefore I need a trusted associate with Western Union Credit transfer to do it for me.
      If you do this small job for me you will be able to keep half (SIXTY-THREE THOUSAND) US DOLLAR in your bank account.
      For your security I need to set up the right bank transfer in your name. Please send me your local bank detail in Lagos right away plus a Western Union Bank money transfer of 500.00 US DOLLAR to cover my costs. I cannot be seen to pay the costs myself you understand as it would appear on the accounts.
      God be with you and peace my brother.
      My Lyman
      New York, USA.

    6. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry, guys, but being a sysadmin does not make you a "creative professional..."

      Are you kidding?

      I've seen perl scripts that outdo Jackson Pollock or De Kooning...

    7. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's North Korea, jackass!

      Another fucking whack-a-mole poking it's head up and BOP!! Why do you say such stupid SHIT?

    8. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Nogami_Saeko · · Score: 1

      Because most of us are surprised that they have electricity in North Korea, much less computer technology, or the education to use it.

      N.

      --
      "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
    9. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by floki · · Score: 3, Insightful
      ... it was reported that N. Korea had a missle that *might* reach the U.S. ... concern that we might get nuked real soon ... there's the Cascadia Subduction Zone just off the Washington coast just waiting to deliver a magnitude 9.0 quake to this region and these guys are worried about N. Korea. I don't get why people worry about remote possibilities when there are real threats just around the corner.

      Perhaps because politicians want them to be scared in order to be able to better push their objectives? Scaring people is powerful and nothing works better than a life-threatening foreign enemy where nobody knows for sure what they are able to pull off. Rumors are easy to create and rightfully putting things into perspective might be considered unamerican. So you better get your missile shield up to date and by the way cash in some money through your ties to the weapons industry. Has worked before, will work again.

      --
      from the to-stupid-for-words dept.
    10. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't get why people worry about remote possibilities when there are real threats just around the corner.

      There's a couple angles you could look at this:

      a) People view natural disasters as "Acts of God"; and therefore not afraid of them. As supporting evidence, people still live in hurricane country and other disaster-prone areas. If you're not religious, nature is neutral, and Kim Jong is evil.

      b) People are sheep, Orwellian style Ministry of Information told them to be afraid, It's all Bush's fault, North Korean "Forest Fire Coverup", etc, etc ...

    11. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People worry most about threats that are newsworthy. More specifically, people worry most about those things that have recently been on the news and happened relatively close.

      Traffic accidents are still one of the greatest threats of unnatural death to people in most politically "stable" countries, but hardly anyone worries about them. They're so common that they're not news.

    12. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      Scaring people is powerful and nothing works better than a life-threatening foreign enemy where nobody knows for sure what they are able to pull off.

      Yay, at least someone gets it! The demonising of N. Korea has been escalating for two or three years now, softening us up for the up-coming war. Mark my words, we'll be at war in North Korea within two years. Many (inc. me) observed the exact same thing with respect to Iraq.

      Propaganda. Textbook example, that's all this is. Next they'll be telling us they mistreat women/children. Hoist the flags, the 'regime change' starts shortly.

    13. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Surely they get lots of electricity from their new shiny nuclear reactor?

    14. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by sickofthisshit · · Score: 5, Interesting

      In two years, the all-volunteer force will have had such a nightmare in recruiting for the festering Iraq occupation that the U.S. military will be stretched even THINNER than it is today.

      Iraq was supposed to be a pushover, with terrain perfectly suited for the U.S. (see Gulf War I), had only Russia as a half-hearted partner.

      North Korea has been girding for this fight ever since the Korean War armistice. They have a major Asian capital held hostage by 50 years worth of artillery emplacements. They are also right in China's backyard, and China, while completely uninterested in the North Korean regime, doesn't want some flood of hungry refugees when they are busy dealing with millions of their own rural workers looking for jobs. That's why none of this has gone to the U.N.: China has enough power to keep the U.S. from steamrolling them; Russia had no choice but to let Iraq get smacked around.

      The U.S. would certainly prevail in a North Korean war, but millions of Koreans would die, with untold damage to a major economy. Samsung, LG, Hyundai, etc., are real economic players [try naming an Iraqi multinational]. Now, Japan getting nuked by North Korean warheads might be equally disastrous, so there is at least one way this could spiral out of control, but this is a war that NOBODY wants.

      That said, the Bush administration has been bungling the situation from day 1, particularly because the proper order of threats was 1) North Korea, 2a) Al-qaeda 2b) Pakistan 3) Iran 4) Iraq, and they started at #4, put #2b on the wrong list, and by attacking #4 managed to spook #3 and #1 enough to make the situation even trickier. Their only policy achievement in NK is a totally non-functional diplomatic arrangement that they screw up with the most childish kind of namecalling.They may very well bungle enough to get the war they don't want.

    15. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by ccady · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I don't get why people worry about remote possibilities when there are real threats just around the corner.

      Same reason I drink Diet Coke with my cheeseburger.

      --
      J'aime mieux les méchants que les imbéciles, parce qu'ils se reposent. -- Alexandre Dumas
    16. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by subtropolis · · Score: 1
      During the first Gulf war, i caught a bit of a call-in show on CBC Newsworld. This was at the height of the run on gas masks at army surplus stores - here in North America. One caller at one point said - and i quote - "But what if they nuke Winnipeg?"

      My roommate & i laughed over that one for weeks.

      --
      "Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
    17. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      News? Not really.

      Propaganda? Definitely.

    18. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 1

      "Getting truth out of the military is like squeezing blood from a turnip."

      And trust me, it hurts like a bitch!

    19. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by kz45 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Propaganda. Textbook example, that's all this is. Next they'll be telling us they mistreat women/children. Hoist the flags, the 'regime change' starts shortly.

      right. North Korea is a great country to live in.

      Liberals are funny. They would rather have famine than an attempt to save these people. 1,000,000 people could be starving in the hands of a maniacal dictator, but still the U.S shouldn't get involved (in fact, they are the ones that are the dictatorship).

      if the U.S was actually that bad, there would be no protestors or people speaking out against the president. They would all be dead. (maybe Iraq is better. They had a vote for president before the war, and Sadaam won by 100%).

      The U.S. even allows left-wing propaganda such as farenheit 9/11 to be played in movie theaters across the country. With the considerably low tax rate and more freedoms than almost every other country in the world, I would say that the U.S is a pretty good place to live. It seems most protesters would rather live in the U.S. and bitch about how shitty it is to live here than actually move to a country they seem to think is better (which is probably because they don't know of one).

    20. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by PaxTech · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Earth to tinfoil hat brigade: Just because the US Government says something, doesn't automatically make it not true.

      Read a little about what happens in N. Korea, from the people who have escaped. It'll make your skin crawl.

      --
      All movements for social change begin as missions, evolve into businesses, and end up as rackets.
    21. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Is anyone really surprised that a militant nation engages in information warfare?

      Nup. Fuckin' Septics (the most militant nation on this Earth) do it too.

    22. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 2, Insightful
      They would rather have famine than an attempt to save these people.

      No, we'd rather do something OTHER than invading and killing untold thousands and/or start a war with a nuclear power. See how you felt on 9.11? That's how other people feel when you attack them. Iraq was completely predictable, and you want to incite more hatred? The very thing that led to 9.11? Are you fucking insane or something?

      The U.S. even allows left-wing propaganda such as farenheit 9/11 to be played in movie theaters across the country.

      That made me smile. Do you think that is in someway special or unique in the world? Are you looking for a medal or something? Wake up my friend, people elsewhere in the west generally have more rights and freedom than you do now.

      It seems most protesters would rather live in the U.S. and bitch about how shitty it is to live here than actually move to a country they seem to think is better (which is probably because they don't know of one).

      Emm, no. Firstly, anyone on the planet has a right to bitch about you unstablising it. So by definition the majority of the protesters DON'T live in the US. I know it's hard to believe as it's contary to your flag-alleging educational upbringing, but most of the world do not live in America. I wouldn't want to live in the US, nice place to visit and all, but you guys are quite freedom-hating to be honest. Most of Europe doesn't have equivalent legistaltion to the liberty bashing stuff you guys seem to be passing these days. And why should any American feel compelled to leave? I thought the "unique" (lol) idea of your country was that you were able to think differently, and promote those views? Sound's like what you are promoting is fasism, where those that feel different to you should leave. That's quite un-American, if you don't mind me pointing that out.

    23. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      Mark my words, we'll be at war in North Korea within two years. Many (inc. me) observed the exact same thing with respect to Iraq.

      Actually, when the US was gearing up for the invasion of Iraq, I remember thinking that they'd have a *heck* of a stronger case for invading North Korea.

      Unfortunately, North Korea almost certainly *do* have WMDs, which makes them a lot more dangerous to invade (*that* is the irony); and that's not even starting on the massive risk to South Korea, or the danger from a Chinese response to such an invasion.

      To be quite blunt, if it wasn't for such dangers, I'd have supported an invasion of North Korea.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    24. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      Read a little about what happens in N. Korea, from the people who have escaped. It'll make your skin crawl.

      So? It doesn't justify a war. Some of the things you guys have done in the last three years has made MY skin crawl. Not on the same level to be sure, but you have no right to kill tens of thousands of civilians and many more soldiers like you just did in Iraq. Even heard of the concept of learning from your mistakes? People do not like being invaded and will fight back!!. Go read a history book you twat, or pick up a news paper, two of your recent invasions (sorry, "liberations") are STILL producing casualties.

    25. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by fermion · · Score: 1
      I wish people would find risks. It is true that N Korea pobably has the ICBM to reach the west coast, and probably the east coast. It is also true that if we intercepted a missle, during boost phase or on reetry, the East coast is likely to get hammered anyway.

      But is it likely? It seems to me that the nuclear treaties allow for retaliation, and the US has enough nukes to level N Korea. And given that the US has been making noises about ignoring those treaties, and retaliating for non-nuclear strikes, I don't see what

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    26. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      Actually, when the US was gearing up for the invasion of Iraq, I remember thinking that they'd have a *heck* of a stronger case for invading North Korea.

      Except Iraq was far more profitable, in terms of strategic gain and finacial grabbing. About nine billion US has gone missing, and oil was pumped unmetered for almost a year. By the companies that back up your current administration just now. The people I know who served over there were guarding oil assets, and I know several folk who are leaving the army in disgust over it.

      N. Korea should be avoided until you have a less corrupt leadership, it's just too dangerous to leave in their hands.

    27. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by swimmar132 · · Score: 1

      Because either it tastes better than regular, or you don't want to eat 80 grams of sugar?

    28. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well that there sounds like you support dictatorships, either passively or actively, even the one in North Korea. And with keeping your head in the sand with respect to North Korea, read this
      it should open your eyes quite a lot. There's a LOT more horrific activities going on there than the Disneyland you might say it is.

    29. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      There's a LOT more horrific activities going on there than the Disneyland you might say it is

      Where did anyone say it was a "disneyland". And not supporting a war does not equate to supporting dictatorships, even "passively". What have you personally done lately to try and end rape happening? Does that mean you support rape?

    30. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Mr.+Memblers · · Score: 1
      1,000,000 people could be starving in the hands of a maniacal dictator

      So what will you do about it? If you think the "U.S." should get involved, I'm assuming you're also a US citizen, so have at it and get involved. Or do you mean you want someone else to solve it, so you can feel good about it and laugh at your "liberal" strawman?

      The U.S. even allows left-wing propaganda such as farenheit 9/11 to be played in movie theaters across the country.

      Eh, who allows what again? I don't know about you, but I'm pretty damn satisfied knowing that I can express my opinions without having to ask for permission. And if I can, so should anyone else. Wouldn't you agree?

    31. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Alranor · · Score: 1

      1,000,000 people could be starving in the hands of a maniacal dictator, but still the U.S shouldn't get involved (in fact, they are the ones that are the dictatorship).

      When the US does something about the situation going on in the Darfur region of Sudan at the moment i'll be willing to believe they care about the common people in these countries.

      Until then, kindly stop pretending that the invasion of Iraq had anything at all to do with the suffering of the populace.

    32. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by ifwm · · Score: 1

      "So? It doesn't justify a war"

      What does? I agree with many of your points, but you're begging the question here.

    33. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      People do not like being invaded and will fight back!!
      How funny. How misinformed, or how desperate to push your own pathetic views. The Iraqi people LIKE being free. The only people who "do not like being invaded" are the aristocrats in power (Sadam and all his friends). No, it wasn't easy and there were casualties, but try opening your mind past your cozy house and innumerable conveniences and maybe you'll learn something that will contradict your "everything the U.S. does is wrong" mentality.
    34. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      How funny. How misinformed, or how desperate to push your own pathetic views. The Iraqi people LIKE being free.

      I think you are the one who is misinformed. While is asked "is freedom good", yes, all Iraqi's would say yes. If you were to ask "should someone have invaded and killed half your village" they might say no. Life is still fucked up over there, it's total anarachy with a guerilla war being played out. Not many Iraqis would thank you right now. Their childrens children might, but that still doesn't justify it.

      No, it wasn't easy and there were casualties, but try opening your mind past your cozy house and innumerable conveniences and maybe you'll learn something that will contradict your "everything the U.S. does is wrong" mentality.

      You sound as though you think it's over. You have made a lot of enemies with that war, enemies who fly planes into buildings, that sort of thing. What is the result going to be I wonder?

      "Everything the US is wrong mentality", eh? I'm saying you are wrong to invade Iraq, and even more wrong to invade a nuclear power. But hey, none of those nukes can reach the US, so who gives a fuck right?

    35. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by kz45 · · Score: 1

      No, we'd rather do something OTHER than invading and killing untold thousands and/or start a war with a nuclear power. See how you felt on 9.11? That's how other people feel when you attack them. Iraq was completely predictable, and you want to incite more hatred? The very thing that led to 9.11? Are you fucking insane or something?

      sure. the U.S invading Iraq is like 9/11. Give me a fucking break.

      That made me smile. Do you think that is in someway special or unique in the world? Are you looking for a medal or something? Wake up my friend, people elsewhere in the west generally have more rights and freedom than you do now

      yeah, it is. Go to China, Cuba, or North Korea and try to do the same thing. You probably won't be posting on slashdot anymore.

      also, name the country/countries that you seem to think have more freedoms and give me an explanation. You should be the one waking up.

      Sound's like what you are promoting is fasism, where those that feel different to you should leave. That's quite un-American, if you don't mind me pointing that out.

      I never said they should leave (but a person has the freedom to do so).

      Some people need a sense of importance because they can't find it anywhere else in their life.

    36. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      yeah, it is. Go to China, Cuba, or North Korea and try to do the same thing.

      So? There are far more places where you do have the freedom to speak your mind. The US is not special in this regard.

      sure. the U.S invading Iraq is like 9/11. Give me a fucking break.

      Tell that to the folk who have bombs dropping on them. They feel just like you felt on that day. I'm not comparing the morality of either action.

      also, name the country/countries that you seem to think have more freedoms and give me an explanation.

      How about just about anywhere in Europe?

    37. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by zerus · · Score: 1

      What good are hackers if you can't feed your own people? Is their goal to train people to knock other countries back to the same pitiful point of human rights that they're at? Same thing with their nuclear program, why not feed and educate your people before you start trying to throw your weight around.

    38. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by kz45 · · Score: 1

      How about just about anywhere in Europe?

      this is a joke. You mean where taxes are the highest around? (ever here of the V.A.T tax?). Thanks but no thanks.

      Tell that to the folk who have bombs dropping on them. They feel just like you felt on that day. I'm not comparing the morality of either action

      the U.S should have let the people in Iraq suffer and die at the hands of sadaam. They don't deserve our help. But when you are the most powerful and free, people will try to take you down in any way that they can.

    39. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      this is a joke. You mean where taxes are the highest around? (ever here of the V.A.T tax?).

      Hmm, taxes? That's the best you've got? V.A.T is a sales tax, sound familiar? It's 17.5%, I wonder what the equivalent tax is in your state...?

      But when you are the most powerful and free, people will try to take you down in any way that they can.

      You don't even know why the terrorists hate you, do you? It's nothing to do with power or freedom. Go get a history book and learn what your country has done to them over the past 30 years. Pretty much what you are doing now in fact, sigh......

      I'm not condoning their actions, but the US public need to get their head out their arse sharpish. It's assholes like Rumsfeld and Cheeney who sucker up to the dictator types like Saddan and the Saudi Royal Family, and sell them weapons that they hate. Not freedom. Bin Laden's stated goal is to have the US withdraw troops from Saudi.

      And that comes back to freedom. See, you are practically living in an Orwellian state, when your administration lie so blatantly and invoke god in speaches, while the news media sit back and repeat the same crap verbaitm. Bush has repeativly said "they hate freedom", which is utter bullshit. You probably killed their wifes/daughters/zealot in the past and they are pissed at you. That's about it in a nutshell. About half of the US population think Saddam was behind 9.11! You think that's an accident? And you go on about how wonderful US "freedom" is?

    40. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But hey, none of those nukes can reach the US, so who gives a fuck right?

      I would bet more than a couple container ships come to the U.S. from S. Korea though.

    41. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Jerivix · · Score: 1

      Now, while the grandparent (or is it parent? whoever is above the post I'm replying to) certainly isn't that insightful, neither are you, good sir (or madam).

      A quick word on Iraq: while I certainly don't approve of the horrendous civilian and military casualties in Iraq, it's important to take note of who's doing the killing. A year ago, there were Iraqi patriots assisting the Al-Quaeda led insurgency. No arguments there. They, however, stopped once elections took place. The result? The violence has not stopped! But why? Because the people attacking American soldiers in Iraq are more interesting in preserving their status-quo Theocracies/Dictatorships than in the liberty of the Iraqi people. I don't doubt that life probably sucks in Iraq, but it's hard to take the side of brutal killers who have no qualms about publicly excecuting those who only wish to seve their countrymen. Always remember who is fighting us in Iraq; foriegn terrorists, not Iraqi patriots.

      I know it's hard to believe as it's contary to your flag-alleging educational upbringing, but most of the world do not live in America. I wouldn't want to live in the US, nice place to visit and all, but you guys are quite freedom-hating to be honest.

      I do have to take a touch of offense at this first bit. I can understand if you don't feel the tug of patriotism quite like I do, but don't denegrate my education at the same time. I'm proud to be an American (flaws and all), but that comes from a deeply held respect for those who came before me, not our education system. I also don't say the pledge of Allegiance, except for when in the sentate hall, and I won't until they take "Under God" out of it. As an American, I feel strongly in change for the better, and I hope to see this change in my lifetime.

      Most of Europe doesn't have equivalent legistaltion to the liberty bashing stuff you guys seem to be passing these days.

      Please be sure to watch for the actions of the Supreme court in coming years, as that is where most of this legislation will see it's doom (or heavy modification). There are three major stages in a piece of legislation's adoption: passage by the Legislative Branch, signing by the President, and review in the Courts. The vast majority of this "freedom hating legislation" hasn't had it's day in court yet, and I can assure you, when the time comes, the American people will see to it. Furthermore, when the American public does accept a piece of limiting legislation, it's not because we dislike freedom. It's because we can balance the conflicting need for security. While I may despise the library record provisions of the USA Patriot Act, I appreciate the fact that other parts of the bill make it incredibly easy for the FBI to exonorate me of all suspicion. Additionally, remember that the courts have the power to review the excecution of the legislation,. So if the FBI steps too far, they can easily be caught.

      With that said, I have to agree with you as far as forcing people to go. Banishment is not what I call an American solution. I have to admit though, that sometimes I wish certain individuals would stop singing the praises of Canada and just move there. But that's a personal problem between me and them :)

    42. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by kz45 · · Score: 1

      Hmm, taxes? That's the best you've got? V.A.T is a sales tax, sound familiar? It's 17.5%, I wonder what the equivalent tax is in your state...?

      yeah, 6%. See the difference. (that was just one example).

      I'm not condoning their actions, but the US public need to get their head out their arse sharpish. It's assholes like Rumsfeld and Cheeney who sucker up to the dictator types like Saddan and the Saudi Royal Family, and sell them weapons that they hate. Not freedom. Bin Laden's stated goal is to have the US withdraw troops from Saudi

      to have a dictator take it over? I think we can thank sadaam for the troops we have in saudi.

      And that comes back to freedom. See, you are practically living in an Orwellian state, when your administration lie so blatantly and invoke god in speaches, while the news media sit back and repeat the same crap verbaitm. Bush has repeativly said "they hate freedom", which is utter bullshit. You probably killed their wifes/daughters/zealot in the past and they are pissed at you. That's about it in a nutshell. About half of the US population think Saddam was behind 9.11! You think that's an accident? And you go on about how wonderful US "freedom" is?

      Our president may talk about god, but does not force everyone to have his beliefs. That's what freedoms is all about.

      Sadaam (or one of his sons) probably killed their wife/daughter/zealout. As stated before, they don't deserve freedom. They need to rot in the shithole Sadaam created for awhile and beg the U.S. for help.

      And you go on about how wonderful US "freedom" is?

      yes, I do.

      Bush has repeativly said "they hate freedom", which is utter bullshit

      have you been there to ask them? Why not take a poll? if not, then you are the one full of shit.

    43. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

      'Your current administration'?

      For one thing, I'm not an American, and I don't live in the US- I'm Scottish.

      Anyway, you're right. The current US administration is more nakedly about partisan self-interest and the arrogance of power than any so far.

      If anyone wants to post a reply comparing the US (favourably) to the Chinese or North Korean regimes, well... duh. *Anyone* is going to look good against them- you don't even want to live in a country that needs North Korea to look good, and the US is nowhere near that bad. b

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    44. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      Bin Laden's stated goal is to have the US withdraw troops from Saudi
      to have a dictator take it over? I think we can thank sadaam for the troops we have in saudi

      You really are clueless! The Saudi Royal Family ARE brutal dictators! And yes, you can thank Saddam in a way as the Saudi dictatorship only allowed the troops after the USA persuaded them with faked satellite images of Saddam massing troops on their border.

      See, the US doesn't hate dictators and like democratic leaders, it's not as simple as that. They like people who they can make deals with, that's the common trend. I could sit here all day and reel of lists of democracies you've toppled, and dictators you've coseyed up to (e.g. Saudi & Saddam). Their politics are of no relevance to US favour.

      Our president may talk about god, but does not force everyone to have his beliefs.

      He doesn't just 'talk' about god, he claims that this crusade is approved by god, and the US public are encouraged to vote for him by their own pastors. He also seeks to ban things that don't fit in with his views, such as evolutionary education and certain kinds or research. Finally, now is not a good time not to be Christian. Large portions of the US public believe that Islamic followers should be federally registered. Next you'll be calling for them to wear yellow armbands.

      Sadaam (or one of his sons) probably killed their wife/daughter/zealout. As stated before, they don't deserve freedom. They need to rot in the shithole Sadaam created for awhile and beg the U.S. for help.

      Eh? Firstly, Al Quada supporters, who make up the majority of the insurgents are not fighting for freedom. The are fighting against a country they believe has done them grievous harm. The fighting Iraqi's are only trying to prevent the installation of a puppet goverment to better rape their natural resources. The whole thing is practically identical to the problems faced in Vietnam. Have you no concept of history, or was Vietnam just something involving sly stallone?

      have you been there to ask them? Why not take a poll? if not, then you are the one full of shit.

      There is no need to ask, their goals are stated in every video message. Of course, the US government sees to it that these are censored on the grounds that there maybe be hidden messages/instructions in the video (lol), lest the public find out that they are being lied to. All you are allowed to see is a short piece of video, with a voice over designed in some way to increase your fear/hatred. Sort of like the 15 minues hate, if you are a fan of classic literature.

      But believing 'they hate freedom' is what keeps the likes of Bush in power. It probably helps you sleep better at night as well, I hope. Just because the USA was once the main proponent of freedom at one point, it doesn't mean that all who come to be at the helm wish to continue it and not take advantage for themselves. This is where the 'eternal vigilance' quote comes in, they didn't mean be wary of foreign threats, they meant beware of corrupt leaders from within. It is your belief that the USA is infalible that led this all to happen in the first place.

      Which is why I am saying please get your head out your ass and stop this madness before you get us all killed. North Korea is a nuclear power, you have NO RIGHT to risk destabilising the entire planet just because are in a lash-out frame of mind right now.

    45. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      We are kind of on the same wavelengh, but the following merits comment:

      Because the people attacking American soldiers in Iraq are more interesting in preserving their status-quo Theocracies/Dictatorships than in the liberty of the Iraqi people.

      That's not true! They do not support dictatorship, their goal is to stop the US meddling in their affairs. The US supports dictatorships such as in Saudi or Saddam (until the Kuwaiti PR campaign that is), and that is the chief reason they hate you. Nothing to do with freedom and/or democracy.

      Saying 'they hate freedom' is a great tried & tested way to get the USA on side.

      I genuinely wish you luck in having the higher courts throw out the legislation, but I doubt you'll manage it. "America needs these laws and anyone who is against them is not a patriot and seeks to harm America. Why do you hate America?" How the hell can you argue against that tried & tested form of propaganda?

    46. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      For one thing, I'm not an American, and I don't live in the US- I'm Scottish.'

      Sorry, I feel bad for making that assumption to a fellow countryman!

    47. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Jerivix · · Score: 1

      That's not true! They do not support dictatorship, their goal is to stop the US meddling in their affairs. The US supports dictatorships such as in Saudi or Saddam (until the Kuwaiti PR campaign that is), and that is the chief reason they hate you. Nothing to do with freedom and/or democracy.

      Christ, don't get me started on Saudi Arabia. That's a clusterfuck of epic proportions. But when the US's "meddling," which I suppose it is, invlolves giving citizens the right to vote and freedom from a sadistic dictator, I find it hard to side with terrorists attempting to preserve the status quo. And really, isn't that what they're doing? They're fighting America because the changes in Iraq are spreading throughout the middle east. As much as I dislike saying it, Bush was right. The only hope for these so-called insurgents is to strike enough fear into the civilian population of Iraq and her neighboring countries to stop any sort of political change. It's low, it's dirty, and it's completely undeserving of foreign support. Support the rights of the Iraqi citizens, and cry foul if the US strips them of all rights. But don't support those who are using violence and intimidation to halt all progress.

      As far as the courts go, well...the Supreme Court has made unpopular decisions before. I can only trust that they won't be scared to do so again. The judiciary is still strong, just look at what happened to Tom Delay when he criticized judges after the Terry Schaivo incident.

    48. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by kz45 · · Score: 1

      Which is why I am saying please get your head out your ass and stop this madness before you get us all killed. North Korea is a nuclear power, you have NO RIGHT to risk destabilising the entire planet just because are in a lash-out frame of mind right now

      and "coseyed up to" another dictator? Make up your mind.

      and if North Korea starts nuking countries, we don't have to help out..right?

      There is no need to ask, their goals are stated in every video message. Of course, the US government sees to it that these are censored on the grounds that there maybe be hidden messages/instructions in the video (lol), lest the public find out that they are being lied to. All you are allowed to see is a short piece of video, with a voice over designed in some way to increase your fear/hatred. Sort of like the 15 minues hate, if you are a fan of classic literature

      tapes can be altered and the media can make you believe one thing or another. This does not tell you their actual thoughts/feelings on the matter.

      But believing 'they hate freedom' is what keeps the likes of Bush in power.

      no, the reason Bush is still in power was because his competition was a joke. I hope our next leader is liberal and it fucks up our country beyond recognition...to teach the liberals a lesson.

    49. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by el_chicano · · Score: 1
      I can understand if you don't feel the tug of patriotism quite like I do, but don't denegrate [sic] my education at the same time.
      ROTFL!!! If you were truly educated you would know that the word you were looking for was denigrate...

      What makes your comment doubly funny is Samuel Johnson's famous quote: "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"
      --
      A man who wants nothing is invincible
    50. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by el_chicano · · Score: 1
      I hope our next leader is liberal and it fucks up our country beyond recognition...to teach the liberals a lesson.
      I hate to break the news to you buddy, but your pal Bush has already fucked up this country beyond recognition.

      All a liberal could do is repair the damage the conservatives have done to this once great nation, but I don't see any visionary liberals of the stature of FDR who could rescue this country out there.

      If the U.S. continues sliding down the toilet at the same rate it has been going these last few years in a few years I'll be looking for a new country to move to, probably one in Europe...
      --
      A man who wants nothing is invincible
    51. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by kz45 · · Score: 1

      I hate to break the news to you buddy, but your pal Bush has already fucked up this country beyond recognition

      actually, you can thank clinton for that. Bush is just trying to clean up the mess.

    52. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You stupid Amercian Bitch, Pakistan is not a threat to the US. They are in fact supposed to be allies, with sales of F16 and everything. Anyway Pakistan fucks the US in the ass anytime.

    53. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hate to break the news to you buddy, but your pal Bush has already fucked up this country beyond recognition.

      If it really was that way, it would have resemble North Korea where there are no economic or social freedoms. So no, it's not fucked up beyond recognition. Just going through some tough times.

    54. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by sickofthisshit · · Score: 1

      I'm not sure, with your "in the ass" comment whether you are ultimately agreeing with my analysis. But, just in case you think you have a valid point.

      Question for you: why did Bill Clinton not get Osama bin Laden when he fired off those cruise missiles? Because he's a commie pinko? No. Because Pakistani intelligence tipped OBL off.

      Question number 2: have you heard the name Abdul Qader Khan? As in the Pakistani who was selling nuclear technology to whoever had ready cash. What country supported him?

      Question number 3: who was the principal supporter and protector of the Taliban after the U.S. lost interest?

      Question number 4: where did all the Taliban run to when the U.S. invaded Afghanistan? And who is reluctant or unable to truly crack down on them? Our good old "ally in the war on terror"

      Question number 5: of the nuclear powers (besides the DPRK), whose regime is poorest, weakest, and most likely to collapse, resulting in nuclear arms in the hands of an Islamist regime?
      Pakistan.

      Question number 6: in which country's territory do you believe Osama bin Laden is still hanging out?

      All that adds up, in my view, to a grave risk to American interests.

    55. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...The U.S. would certainly prevail in a North Korean war...

      Like Vietnam? Remember the speed of the US 'bug out' last time in Korea?

    56. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by sickofthisshit · · Score: 1

      Vietnam was a totally different situation.

      As for "bug out", perhaps you remember a guy called Douglas Macarthur, and a place called Inchon. Who made it pretty much to the Yalu river against the DPRK. The U.S. certainly isn't going to repeat the mistake of getting China involved. Or do you think the DPRK got back to the armistice line all on its own? In any case, if it turns out the DPRK does actually have nuclear weapons, and uses them, then the gloves will be off. Kim Jong Il *might* have 10 nuclear warheads, the U.S. has thousands.

      It wouldn't be quick and easy like toppling Saddam Hussein was, and thousands of American troops would die, but don't you worry, Korea would be unified, just without Kim Jong Il. As for afterward, you think there will be Koreans ready to fight against the American occupiers to restore Kim's regime when they find out that South Korea is many times richer, and that the Great Leader and Dear Leader *were* lying to them, and letting them starve all those years? They'll be running off to China or South Korea as fast as they can. There's a legitimate, stable, mature Korean regime in Seoul that can take over. Not an illegitimate U.S. puppet in Saigon.

      Yes, the U.S. collapsed against the initial DPRK attack (you do believe the DPRK started the Korean War, right?), because they had left just a weak force behind after WWII, with an ill-equipped South Korean army; the South was a poor agricultural country, while the North was rich and industrialized, and had Soviet military backing. The U.S. is prepared this time, and has the advantage of strategic depth, superior technology, and 50 years of studying the situation. North Korea is strategically isolated, dirt poor, and China isn't going to save their bacon this time around.

      Ho Chi Minh didn't waste his life partying and drinking expensive brandy at the expense of his people. He was leading a revolution against hated Western domination, and had been fighting for many years before the U.S. showed up. Kim Jong Il is a simple dictator, who'll either cut and run, or die in a burned-out bunker. He's not going to lead his people to victory after starving and abusing them the last 50 years.

    57. Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Shihar · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      There are two very large differences between the Korean War round 2, and Vietnam. The biggest being that there is no way to 'loose' such a war. What is the worst that could happen? North Korea holds off the invasion and has every last piece of infrastructure burned down?

      The big difference is that there is no where for North Korean to go. Charging across the border into South Korea would be insane. Not only would they have to go over the most heavily defended border in the world, fight the South Koreans which easily rank in the top 5 of best militaries who are backed up by the number one in military might, they would have to pick their way through a very hostile indigenous population very much willing to fight to the end rather then be ruled over by the North. North Korea doesn't want a fight with the US. The best the North could ever hope for is that they devastate South Korea with WMDs and artillery and that after the US is done nuking their asses for using chemical weapons, the US doesn't feel the number of lives lost in the invasion of the radioactive cesspool that would remain would be worth it.

      The closest to victory North Korea can get is the collapse of its central government and devastation to rival South Korea, while letting the US gets off having just expended a sick amount of explosives on what little there is to blow up. Maybe if they really felt ambitious they could manage to nuke L.A. and have their nation turned glass by the retaliatory nuclear strike.

      I think the big difference between North Korea and Iraq is that the US went in with a screwed up neo-con belief that they could make the place better. Anything that would provoke the US into attacking North Korea (and thus damning Seoul) would be done out of sheer rage, and be done with absolutely no regard to civilian life or thoughts about rebuilding the nations. Having the US thrash your nation with its full power, totally indifferent to collateral damage, is really not going to be pretty.

  5. WMD? by billoo · · Score: 2, Funny

    So does this mean that North Korean hackers have outdated information about their own country's WMDs?

    1. Re:WMD? by wootest · · Score: 1

      In Korea, only old hackers have outdated information about their own country's WMD! No matter if it's North or South Korea!

    2. Re:WMD? by jd · · Score: 1

      No, they only have outdated information about Iraq's WMDs and suppositions about acquiring outdated information on future Iranian WMDs. Information about North Korean WMDs is entirely accurate, but misfiled under the heading of Cheesy Whatsits.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  6. We hack you very strongly by 5killz · · Score: 0

    We need to get an admin with Korean jurisdiction to rate Dr. Byeon Jae-jeong's account "-1 flamebait." He's head of a hacker army- you know he's got a /. account.

  7. whoa by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Watch out, in infinite time 500-600 korean hackers typing randomly on keyboards will crack any network, *AND* write the works of shakespeare!

  8. Urgent news flash!! by Brandon+K · · Score: 0

    *flashback 40 years*

    Breaking news! The reds in Korea have obtained nuclear weapons comparable to the United States! They even claimed it themselves! We're all doomed!

    *end flashback*

    *40 years later*

    Breaking news! Today, North Korea has admitted to have nuclear weapons, and they are 1/10000 as powerful as those that the United Nations possesses! Run for your lives!

    As you could probably tell, when a country is desperate, they'll lie about anything to make themselves seem up higher in the world.

    1. Re:Urgent news flash!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Today, North Korea has admitted to have nuclear weapons, and they are 1/10000 as powerful as those that the United Nations possesses! Run for your lives!

      *Flashback three and a half years.
      Er, a dozen or so terrorists have box cutters knives. You had indeed better run for your life.
      *End flashback*

      Have you learned nothing? Its not the military capability, its the mindset and its the will to act.

    2. Re:Urgent news flash!! by GabrielF · · Score: 1

      When your country is run by a bunch of egomaniacal psychopathic nutjobs who are rapidly developing intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching your shores it doesn't really matter whether they have .0001 or 10000 times more nukes than you.

    3. Re:Urgent news flash!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > When your country is run by a bunch of egomaniacal psychopathic nutjobs who are rapidly developing intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching your shores it doesn't really matter whether they have .0001 or 10000 times more nukes than you.

      I'm pretty sure Bush and Co already have ICBMs capable of reaching any country in the world

    4. Re:Urgent news flash!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, I read the downing street memo too, and I agree.

      With the current administration of psychopathic nutjobs engaging in pre-meditated wars sold to congress as a last resort,even after He startyed his war, the world is rightly scared. Knowing that the world's sole super power has become under the control of one man, is frightening.

      Even worse, the nutcase wants to develop new nukes, and considers them tactical weapons for use in routine combat situations.

      Even worse still, ego maniac nutcase wants to militarize space, so he can have a clean shot at any country any time.

      Gawd the American people are stupid. Jesus is worshiped around the world, but only in America would Bush be seen as acting out the wishes of God.

  9. this isn't news by unknown_goth · · Score: 2, Insightful

    maybe if the CIA wasn't using such out dated software and dedicated so much of their time searching for the evils of the world then they could catch up on their reading and protect us from larger threats than a plane going into a building. I'm sure there is some pretty smart guys in the CIA, but what motive to they have to improve their skills? I'm too tired to put much more thought into this but this is nothing surprising we all know the russians are way better than us as well. By the way how are the people working on stem cells comparing the rest of the world right now. . . about the same that figures. this is my 2 cents for the moment, please mister CIA guys don't come knocking on my door, i've gotta go to sleep before work tomarrow.

    --
    Force of Will = Glue 'nuff said.
    1. Re:this isn't news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      It's the biggest thread to Longhorn sales in existance.

      With Win2K's death I don't think Microsoft has much to worry about regarding Longhorn being not successful anymore. XP & 2003 are pains to use as a server.


    2. Re:this isn't news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I always though that a computer large enough to handle a simulation of the universe would allow us to predict the future, even at individual level if the simulation was advanced enough.

      And then I realized that the smallest simulation of the universe would probably be the size of the universe.

      It got very confusing at that point.

    3. Re:this isn't news by Evil+W1zard · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Have you ever contemplated that when they tell you that organization X, Y or Z made a mistake that maybe it is an exercise in deception? The public in general is dumb (and that is for all nations). And how are dumb people led? Very easily. Before you go and try to make jokes about agencies/organizations you probably really know nothing about other than sensationalistic news stories you might want to brush up a little on your history of politics and warfare.

      And back on topic. The story is total crap. Yes I'm sure they have an elite hacking crew of 4 people (2 of which remote in from Romania) and have access to all the greatest Tandy 2k technology. This is nothing more than typical NK we are super propaganda. Remember Total Destruction is Inevertibly Inevertible!

      --
      News Reporters Make Tasty Polar Bear Treats!
    4. Re:this isn't news by hhawk · · Score: 1

      They may not have any people or as you suggest it might be just a few.. but trust that they have the lastest technology.

      They are a big exporter of long range missles, etc. If they can smuggle huge amounts of arms technology around the globe they can certainly pick up a few WinTel or Linux boxes..

      --
      http://www.hawknest.com/
    5. Re:this isn't news by xgamer04 · · Score: 1

      maybe if the CIA wasn't using such out dated software and dedicated so much of their time searching for the evils of the world

      I guess I missed the bulletin on outdated software, but both of these points sound awfully congruent with our lovely government's (USA) affection for bureaucracy and sluggishness. I'm going to make the assertion that hackers in Russia and N. Korea are given a little more leeway on doing what they do.

      --
      When you look at the state of the world, how can you not become a radical, liberal anarchist?
  10. Food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Perhaps instead of employing 500-600 hackers to deter a threat that they create to intimidate their own people they should consider giving their people some food so they don't starve to death.

    1. Re:Food by jpardey · · Score: 1

      I have a feeling that those 500-600 people will make little difference. And you talk about detering a threat they create. Ever heard of the Bay of Pigs invasion?

      Perhaps nuclear and computer threats will make other countries lift embargoes on North Korea (I am unsure what embargoes are in place). I doubt it myself... but it would do more good to have more trade and more skilled technicians than to have a few more farmers.

      --
      I have freaks! I did something right...
    2. Re:Food by X.25 · · Score: 1

      Perhaps instead of employing 500-600 hackers to deter a threat that they create to intimidate their own people they should consider giving their people some food so they don't starve to death.

      Perhaps instead of approving US$ 500,000,000,000 defence budget to deter a threat they create to intimidate their own people they should consider giving their people some medical care and social security, so they don't sleep in streets (or chose your favourite activity).

      Same thing, different package.

    3. Re:Food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Perhaps instead of employing 500-600 hackers to deter a threat that they create to intimidate their own people they should consider giving their people some food so they don't starve to death.

      Perhaps instead of approving US$ 500,000,000,000 defence budget to deter a threat they create to intimidate their own people they should consider giving their people some medical care and social security, so they don't sleep in streets (or chose your favourite activity).

      Different things, different packages.

      "Same thing, different package" more properly refers to the author of the second italicized comment, X.25 (255792), who appears to be some form of liberal.

      Liberals of course being 60 pounds of shit in a 50 pound bag.

      What's the difference between liberals and shit? Not much, except shit knows when to keep it's stupid mouth shut.

    4. Re:Food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      9/11 was not created by the US, moron. The US's defense spending is still only about 5% of GDP, which I don't consider to be excessive. North Korea's is about 30 to 50%. And how many people are starving in the US.(Quite frankly if an adult can't feed himself adequately in the US, he never would have anywhere else at any time). South Korea threw away more food that North Korea produced last year.

    5. Re:Food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I assume most of the embargoes have to do with the non-payment of depts owned by NK. Who wants to deal with a dirtbag who won't pay?

    6. Re:Food by Inzite · · Score: 1

      Perhaps instead of employing 500-600 hackers to deter a threat that they create to intimidate their own people they should consider giving their people some food so they don't starve to death.

      Are you talking about North Korea or the United States?

      Seriously though, I can think of over 50 countries that fit that bill, and many of them are most decidedly not third world/fringe states.

    7. Re:Food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      9/11 was not created by the US, moron.

      Please look up a copy of "what uncle sam really wants" by Noam Chomsky. You might want to change your tone a bit after that read.

    8. Re:Food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes because a linguist who publishes what are essentially conspiracy pamphlets whose sole source of "facts" is newspaper articles should be at the top of any concerned citizens reading list.

    9. Re:Food by Retric · · Score: 1

      Instead of using $500,000,000,000 try "more money than the rest of the world put together" or 2,000$ per person.

      There is a point where people just see a lot of zeros. 500,000,000,000 and 5,000,000,000,000 look about the same but on is 10x as large.

      Same thing, different package.

      Or 150% of the US's total energy costs (electric, gas, jet fuel, natural gas, heating oil ect). It's really funny when people go ape over 50c at the pump but they don't mind spending thousands of dollars every year on the military.

      If we spent 1/2 our current budget on the military we could still destroy the rest of the world several times over. Do we really need to have several subs each of which have ~12+ ICBM's and 40+ independently targetable 10+ million tunes wroth of TNT nukes? That's what 10,000+ times the destructive force of all of NC nukes put together per ship.

      PS: If our leaders keep trying to make up for an inferiority complex by overthrowing other countries we should start checking the package before they can run for office.

    10. Re:Food by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These hackers are critical for food supplies of the nation. They hack into computer systems of restaurants that do home delivery in neighboring countries....

    11. Re:Food by Dread_ed · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You got modded funny, but the really funny part is regardless of how much money NK does or dosent spend on things other than food, people will still starve in that country because it is what that government wants.

      You think that they lack funds to feed people? Yeah sure, just like Ethiopia lacked the funds and ability to feed their people in the 80's and 90's. Oh wait, I forgot about the hundreds of tons of food that just rotted on the docks while the ruling class held parties and banquets that cost millions of dollars a night. Sorry, but hunger, starvation, and death are the primary tool and self appointed right of a power-centric/communistic government. Remember that the only capital to spend in that government structure is the people. And, just like the capital we have, it can be wasted on whims and thrown away wantonly by those in power. Even worse is the fact that a portion of their country has to be destroyed in this way to make sure that the government stays in power.

      And people criticise the USA for being a war-crimes and civil rights abuser of the highest caliber. In a world where the systematic starvation of the majority of a country's population recieves massively less attention than someone putting hood on a guy's head and making him take his clothes off, I wonder if there can be any solution to the problems that plague those of us who react with indignancy to violence and injustice.

      --
      When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
    12. Re:Food by blueberrry · · Score: 1

      Perhaps instead of employing 500-600 hackers to deter a threat that they create I guess you could say exactly the same thing about the US. Just replace 'employing 500-600 hackers' by 'spending a few hundred billions'.

  11. Woo! by shimbee · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    Thankfully, our intelligence-gathering/spying community is awful!

  12. well.. by ltwally · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Well, first of all: The CIA isn't tasked with electronic/computerised intelligence/counterintelligence; that's the NSA's job.

    And, second of all: Having experienced the wrath of korean hax0r's myself, while playing Counter-Strike, I can easily believe this.

    --



    /dev/random
    1. Re:well.. by revscat · · Score: 0, Troll

      Well, first of all: The CIA isn't tasked with electronic/computerised intelligence/counterintelligence; that's the NSA's job.

      I'm pretty sure that the CIA's job these days is just to tell Bush whatever it is he wants to hear.

    2. Re:well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As far as item one, you're correct. It's a bit like saying they have bus driving skills equal to that of the railroad.

      In other words, these fuckers are liars.

    3. Re:well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Advertising. They can look at the search logs and say "Hey, people from $area are searching for $product; let's put loads of advertising in $area so we can get more money". I would rather not help people who do things like that.

    4. Re:well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm pretty sure that the CIA's job these days is just to tell Bush whatever it is he wants to hear.

      Unfortunately, when the CIA is told to "get behind the President" and his policies, it takes the impartial element out of the intelligence aspect.

    5. Re:well.. by Mysticalfruit · · Score: 1

      Yeah actually, I've heard talk that there were some decenting voices over the whole Iraq thing in the CIA. Those people were forced out of their positions and replaced with people who shall we say, have similar world views to those in the White House.

      --
      Yes Francis, the world has gone crazy.
    6. Re:well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So what's with the other ACs that replied to this? Posts that should've been under other stories appeared here instead.

    7. Re:well.. by gfilion · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I'm pretty sure that the CIA's job these days is just to tell Bush whatever it is he wants to hear.

      According to this New Yorker article, Bush and the CIA don't like each other. Bush basically made his own personal Intelligence Agency inside the Pentagon. The President pretends that this "task force" doesn't have to provide answers about their acts to Congress.

      From the article:

      The President has signed a series of findings and executive orders authorizing secret commando groups and other Special Forces units to conduct covert operations against suspected terrorist targets in as many as ten nations in the Middle East and South Asia.

      The President's decision enables Rumsfeld to run the operations off the books--free from legal restrictions imposed on the C.I.A. Under current law, all C.I.A. covert activities overseas must be authorized by a Presidential finding and reported to the Senate and House intelligence committees. (The laws were enacted after a series of scandals in the nineteen-seventies involving C.I.A. domestic spying and attempted assassinations of foreign leaders.) "The Pentagon doesn't feel obligated to report any of this to Congress," the former high-level intelligence official said. "They don't even call it 'covert ops'--it's too close to the C.I.A. phrase. In their view, it's 'black reconnaissance.' They're not even going to tell the cincs"--the regional American military commanders-in-chief. (The Defense Department and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on this story.)

    8. Re:well.. by sharkey · · Score: 1
      Having experienced the wrath of korean hax0r's myself, while playing Counter-Strike, I can easily believe this.

      Konane? Is that you?

      --

      --
      "Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
    9. Re:well.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You forgot the link, or is this just FUD?

    10. Re:well.. by Mo+Bedda · · Score: 1

      Here you go.

      It is fairly old news actually. Back when Goss took over at CIA. I haven't heard much about it since. I like this part:

      Mr. Goss, in his memo, outlined "rules of the road" for the CIA to follow and warned that agency employees "do not identify with, support or champion opposition to the administration or its policies."

      Lord (W) knows how difficult it is when intelligence conflicts with policy.

    11. Re:well.. by Mo+Bedda · · Score: 1

      This really doesn't say the Bush and the CIA don't get along, it just says Bush doesn't like the restrictions which have been put on the CIA, so he'd rather expand the powers of the DOD. Less oversight, fewer checks on power.

  13. But could they hack a Gibson? by joejoejoejoe · · Score: 1

    I watched Hackers and I KNOW this is what it takes to be l33t.

    If they could haxor a Gibson, I'd be f34ring 3m.

    -J4

    --
    Silly Rabbit: tricks are for kids.
    1. Re:But could they hack a Gibson? by unitron · · Score: 1
      "If they could haxor a Gibson, I'd be f34ring 3m."

      Yeah, but if you hack a Gibson it turns into an Epiphone.

      --

      I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

    2. Re:But could they hack a Gibson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Korea, only old people hack the Gibson. The young studs hack Fender.

    3. Re:But could they hack a Gibson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      " 1. Get some kind of copyrighted material NOT owned by the RIAA, say a novel written by a friend of yours. 2. Make 3000 copies of it, each one containing the material repeated until it reaches 3.2 or so megabytes, and name them all things like "Avril Lavinge - Happy Ending.mp3". 3. Put them up on kazaa. 4. Wait to be sued by the RIAA. 5. When sued, produce logs and demonstrate that the RIAA has -- in fact -- downloaded quite a lot of copies of your friend's novel. 6. Get your friend to sue the RIAA for illegally downloading his novel."
      One problem: Don't you think the RIAA might check the contents of the file before they sue?
    4. Re:But could they hack a Gibson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Nah, MS-DOS 1.0 was the best operating system they ever made. Since then it just got worse and worse ;-)

      Just look at the security: I don't see any outstanding security bulletins on MS-DOS 1.0. How many MS-DOS 1.0 PCs have viruses, and how many are 0wned by zombie networks?


    5. Re:But could they hack a Gibson? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Same here - in fact I see many reasons not to upgrade. "Trusted" computing will be the final nail in Microsoft's coffin as far as I'm concerned, but even XP goes a bit too far with their activation scheme.

      No thanks, MS. I'll use 2000 for compatibility as long as it works, and then I'll go to linux 100%. Or maybe I'll get a Mac? Never thought I'd even consider it, but who knows.

      On a practical note, did anyone bother to read TFA? What do I need to make sure that I have on hand for future 2K installations - just this rollup or rollup+SP4? Bah, I guess I should investigate it myself.

      p
    6. Re:But could they hack a Gibson? by Lifewish · · Score: 1

      One problem: Don't you think the RIAA might check the contents of the file before they sue?

      Evidently not.

      --
      For the love of God, please learn to spell "ridiculous"!!!
  14. How about a more common metric? by PlacidPundit · · Score: 1
    He claims the DPRK hackers to be 'equal to that of the CIA,' whatever that might mean."

    Can somebody give this to me in Libraries of Congress or Volkswagon Bugs?

    1. Re:How about a more common metric? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, a VW Beetle full of Korean hackers can turn out more LoCs of code than a beetle's worth of american hackers.

      Of course that isn't surprising, considering such a VW can fit 34.6 average DPRK hackers, while only 0.8 US hackers.

  15. Let's be frank by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does the north korean government have the resources to *feed* 500 hackers, much less train them and set them up with phone lines?

    I don't take this too seriously. The Korean press in the North is engineered to make the North look invincible; the South Korean press sees the world the way a fish in a fishbowl does, and everything to its immediate north looks huge, overstated and distorted. I'd be willing to bet the most sophisticated hacking force in the Koreas is the spammers.

  16. zerg by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 1

    He means, "They're not very good, but ignorant sheep will probably assume that they are."

    Now why he would want to say something like that is, IMO, a more interesting question...

    --
    [o]_O
  17. Re:err.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All your base are belong to us

  18. why is south korea saying this? by paymoretaxes · · Score: 2, Interesting

    why does democratic South Korea compare N. Korea to the U.S.? Is this something they want to draw international attention to because it "threatens" their security? I know S. Korea is the closest land to N. Korea but this is over-reacting.

    1. Re:why is south korea saying this? by cranos · · Score: 1

      I think we can forgive the South Koreans being a little jittery about the North. Remember the North recently declared they now have nukes, and the war between north and south has not actually been declared over. Also the North appears to be run by a psychotic film buff with Short Angry Man syndrome.

      Hell if I was the South I'ld be trying to keep everybodies attention as well.

    2. Re:why is south korea saying this? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In all seriousness, the interface used by Google Maps seems like it would be well-suited for dealing with astronomical imaging data.

    3. Re:why is south korea saying this? by Whyte · · Score: 1

      The military and research arms of most governments spend a considerable amount of time ginning up possible threats. They then try to exchange that potential threat for funding for their research, which they assure the financier will effectively combat that threat.

      I imagine this is pretty much what the article was about. Generating some kind of public fear in the hope of obtaining funding for his research project.

      --
      -- No matter how great your triumphs or how tragic your defeats, approximately one billion Chinese couldn't care less.
    4. Re:why is south korea saying this? by CptNerd · · Score: 1

      Plus creating some kind of justification to keep a US military presence in South Korea, just like every time we've threatened to close down and pull out our troops. It's alright for the people to protest and demand that we leave, but not when we actually start planning to do so.

      --
      By the taping of my glasses, something geeky this way passes
  19. Whatever! by BigZaphod · · Score: 5, Funny

    Everyone knows that the CIA hackers are 31337 and hack people ALL the time! They even hack into computers that aren't even connected to the 'net! I once saw this hacker and he hacked a system so much that it EXPLODED and it KILLED like a million people! And that was just with his pinky. And I knew right then he had to be a CIA hacker d00d. And I asked him. And he hacked my laptop which was OFF and closed AND HAD no battery! And he did it just by looking at it and he scowled and he turned around and then he hacked a park bench and then digitally vanished. And when I opened my laptop it said "I'm a CIA hacker d00d and am 31337. Tell n0 0n3." Oh crap... ,mnb,b4, #$$# NO CARRIER>>>

    1. Re:Whatever! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, if you login using gmail it automatically logs you into your search history which is found at http://www.google.com/searchhistory/ Hence, the .google.com cookie

    2. Re:Whatever! by Vlad_the_Inhaler · · Score: 1

      Funny?

      Who moderated that funny?

      I was searching for a way of calling the original Dr. Byeon Jae-jeong quote 'paranoid ravings'. You did it so much better.

      --
      Mielipiteet omiani - Opinions personal, facts suspect.
    3. Re:Whatever! by ezzzD55J · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Who moderated that funny?

      I was searching for a way of calling the original Dr. Byeon Jae-jeong quote 'paranoid ravings'. You did it so much better.

      I think it's a kinda funny reference to http://realultimatepower.net/. It's what Wikipedia calls an Intenet Phenomenon.
  20. *cough* by UniXY · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hackers? Simple. Embargo asbestos shipments.

    1. Re:*cough* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      This is probably not legal in your country.

      I know of court rulings in Denmark that have stated that it is not legal to send personal data to the US to avoid the restrictions of the local personal data protection law. The UK laws on personal data protection are almost the same as in Denmark.

      If I was you and wanted to pursue this, I would - after having tried to settle this amicably with Napster.co.uk - complain to the UK Information Commissioner.


  21. Re:War in Iraq by dancingmad · · Score: 1

    Insane fascist dictators in southeast Asia?

    I agree with your post, but are you referring to North Korea/Kim Jong-il? I'm no geography buff, but I could swear North Korea was, well, north.

    --
    "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
  22. Re:PEOPLE WITH MOD POINTS: CALL FOR HELP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The crapflood to which you link was perpetrated by people trying to get the flooders in Trolltalk banned. Hardly a good reason to defend the trolls.

  23. oh, thanks for a good laugh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You expect me to think that a self-isolated communist regime can beat the good 'ol CIA at computers? Do you think I'm a fucking idiot?

    North Korea excels at producing counterfeit currency, drugs, and 1960's era missile technology. Those are their major exports.

    They are a backwards nation, and that tyrant dictator is too scared to let his own people get to know the outside world.

    Cannibalism is widespread in North Korea at the moment (look it up if you dont believe me).

    The worst human rights violations in the world are occuring in North Korea. Three generations of a persons family can and are sent to death camps for the (alleged) crime of an individual.

    Kim Jong Il will eventually hang from a noose next to Saddam Hussein. My only hope is that the unelected mullahs of Iran will hang next to them, but those god damn eurpoeans would rather sit on their ass then allow this to happen.

    - George W. Bush

    1. Re:oh, thanks for a good laugh by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Do you think I'm a fucking idiot? ... those god damn eurpoeans..." - George W. Bush

      Well yes George, I do think you're an idiot. Very much so.

      Yours truly,
      a god damned European

  24. this guy is not credible by Dr+Kool,+PhD · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "a five-year school that has been turning out about 100 cyber warfare specialists a year since 1981" -- back in 1981 computers weren't very prevalent and hackers were a minor nuisance at worst. The Internet was limited strictly to research labs and universities, I strongly doubt that NK even had a single internet connection in the whole country back in 1981. Yet they were turning out 100 cyber warriors per year?

    This is a joke. If North Korea did try a "cyber attack" on America we could cut off their internet with a pair of scissors. The average cable modem user in America has more bandwidth than their entire country. It's hard to afford computers and network access when 99.9% of your GDP goes to support your military and feed your people.

    1. Re:this guy is not credible by srlunsford · · Score: 1

      Heh, you make it sound like they've got one UUCP connection servicing the whole nation...wait...isn't there actually some central American country like that?

    2. Re:this guy is not credible by Keruo · · Score: 1

      I'd consider the hackers around 80s rather good.. they werent script kiddies who downloaded something someone else wrote just to see if it worked, they developed some of the tools so new even the sysadmins at that time were surprised to see. Those programs are commonly used tools today, such as port scanners etc.

      I highly doubt that any country had internet connections as considered today in 80es, but all they needed back then was one telephone line.

      > This is a joke. If North Korea did try a "cyber attack" on America we could cut off their internet with a pair of scissors.

      What good would it do to cut them off from the internet?
      All you need is satellite phone and you're back online, continuing the attack from cover machines which they're sure to use, since no competent hacker would use his/her own connection to do the attack to begin with.

      > The average cable modem user in America has more bandwidth than their entire country.

      You said it yourself, guess twice where the attack is coming from. Is the average cable modem user capable to protect his/her computer against trained hackers?

      > It's hard to afford computers and network access when 99.9% of your GDP goes to support your military

      How is it hard, if you're hacker hired by the military? They supply the tools, you supply the means.

      --
      There are no atheists when recovering from tape backup.
    3. Re:this guy is not credible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, somebody at LinuxFund made a rounding error. Tomorrow we'll learn that the entire building has burned down (except for a red stapler that miraculously survives), and that weird mumbling guy in Corporate Accounts has gone missing.

    4. Re:this guy is not credible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's hard to afford computers and network access when 99.9% of your GDP goes to support your military and feed your people.

      You would not think that it's included in their military budget. Which means (I think) around 50% of GDP or few billion dollars.
      I agree though, clearly this article is BS, you just take a different angle. Deliberate misinformation vs. ignorance.

    5. Re:this guy is not credible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i dont know if u've been to korea, but their internet is FAST!!
      I'm talking about way faster than US(4mbit) avg speed there is 10mbit-100mbit. we have 30-40 years old lines running under us. They are newer development, with better lines, thats the difference.
      everyone there who is 14 years old are already programmers. there's more programmer in korea than they know what to do.

      their soap opera shows are broadcast at 4mbits thats about 500kbytes. so if u missed a show u can log on to their site and watch that show tv or better quality streaming. you guys should check it out. -djorange

    6. Re:this guy is not credible by StarsAreAlsoFire · · Score: 1

      Satellite phone? I think not. I don't think the US would even need to *ask* the satellite operators before they all ceased to accept calls from the general region of N. Korea.

      But I would wager that if we asked, with reason, NK would have no sat access within an hour.

      On a total side note: WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH ALL THE AC POSTS! You know the ones I mean -- the spam from other threads.

      I don't get it: WHY? There is no possible benifit. *sigh* Never mind. I forget that some people get off by being prats.

    7. Re:this guy is not credible by StarsAreAlsoFire · · Score: 1

      North?

      Or South?

      I can believe south.

    8. Re:this guy is not credible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      One problem: Don't you think the RIAA might check the contents of the file before they sue?

      If recent history is any indication, no they won't check the file before they sue./p

    9. Re:this guy is not credible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, it's pretty annoying. The "benefit" is that posting without an account will probably soon go to history.

      Oh, back to topic.. NK shouldn't have a slightest trouble in applying on the internet whatever worms/hacks/etc they have developed. They have spies outside the country you know.

    10. Re:this guy is not credible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alot of companies still have Win 2000 servers. Heck I'd say most windows shops still have a majority of their servers on windows 2000. Heck, many even still have NT4.

      Then here comes Microsoft saying, "OK, you're done. Either upgrade your machine (and give us money) or you are going to be vulnerable to a slew of attacks that we won't patch"

      Well, so they have to upgrade anyway, we need to get the message out about Linux, and how support for linux will not "expire" like this.

      And this on the heals of Novell's big announcment today...

    11. Re:this guy is not credible by dfjghsk · · Score: 1
      the grandparent is thinking of south korea.. in general, when someone refers to "Korea" they are talking about the south.

      Read the cia factbook about North Korea... they can't even feed their own people.. and for "Internet Users", the CIA has "NA"

      The official website for North Korea isn't even hosted in North Korea! (it's currently in Spain)

      --
      Help me take back Slashdot. When did 'News for Nerds' become 'FUD and Conspiracy Theories for Extremist Nutjobs'?
    12. Re:this guy is not credible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      irst off- as a body acting on behalf of the copyright holders, they have a right to download it. So them downloading it is non-infringing.

      Wrong, because you are still infringing THEIR rights to distribution. Whether they are legally entitled to possess the file is totally irrelevant.

      Secondly, it opens up arguments of entrapment.

      Wrong again, only the government can engage in entrapment. There is no private entrapment. "Only a government official or agent can entrap a defendant." United States v. Emmert, 829 F.2d 805, 808 (9th Cir. 1987).

      Thirdly, it means say goodbye to mass mailing of lawsuits, they have to dl every file from everyone they want to sue them over.

      Well, one out of three isn't bad./p

    13. Re:this guy is not credible by hhawk · · Score: 1

      Since the "internet" or Internet Protocol didn't "turn on until 1983" even the US didn't
      have a "single" internet connection in 1981.. hmmmmm and yet here we are!

      ARPAnet dates from the late 60's and forgetting Babbages' failures, there have been industrial uses for computers from the last 40's and 50's and so while perhaps you can only think of computers in the context of a PC (a personal computer), NK certainly could have had a technology "hacking" team since the 50's or 60's (if not before).

      Turning out 100 new team members a year? who knows..

      --
      http://www.hawknest.com/
    14. Re:this guy is not credible by Mudcathi · · Score: 1
      > It's hard to afford computers and network access when 99.9% of your GDP goes to support your military and feed your people.

      According to the CIA, North Korea only spends about 20% of its GDP on its military and 30% on food... but then again, perhaps NK hackers inserted this disinformation into the CIA website.

      --

      "He who throws mud, loses ground." - proverb

    15. Re:this guy is not credible by Flower · · Score: 1
      We'll just rent out that massive botnet that CA says is being created. At 5 cents a PC we could get...

      Wait. What do you mean they won't take Kim Chee? Dammit, they know we're good for it!

      --
      I don't want knowledge. I want certainty. - Law, David Bowie
    16. Re:this guy is not credible by GWTPict · · Score: 1

      A command line doesn't actually require that much bandwidth, mmkay?

    17. Re:this guy is not credible by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean 99,98% goes to military and the rest to feed your people.

    18. Re:this guy is not credible by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Uhm, hacker doesn't have to mean "evil Internet user".

    19. Re:this guy is not credible by Mo+Bedda · · Score: 1

      The point is, it is fairly difficult to keep someone off the net. When there are multiple people with any significant funding, it is impossible.

      Given the bot armies which have been built up by teenagers with no funding, I suspect any country which can build nuclear weapons could cause major problems on the net.

  25. Easy fix by Emperor+Tiberius · · Score: 1

    korea.blackholes.us :-)...

    1. Re:Easy fix by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's not what I mean't.

      You need threads. But you create 20 threads at the beginning (or something) and then you use those throughout the life of the application.

      You can grow the number of threads dynamically to best suit your load.

      But the point is, you don't create threads all the time. You pick a thread up from a thread pool.

      Creating threads on Windows and Linux may be 5 times faster than on Mac OS X, but it is still a relatively slow operation. A thread pool makes sense there as well.

      I'm not saying that it is OK that thread creation is slow. But creating a thread that lives for less than a second is a bad design for a server application.

      Another poster stated that MySQL uses thread pools however. So that puts things in another light. If the problem wasn't because creating threads are slow, then Mac OS X had another problem.

  26. Re:War in Iraq by ptbarnett · · Score: 1
    I agree with your post, but are you referring to North Korea/Kim Jong-il? I'm no geography buff, but I could swear North Korea was, well, north.

    Maybe you should look at a map of Asia.

  27. Dupe(?) + My thoughts.... by iamcf13 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've seen this mentioned here quite some time ago (no, I don't have the relavent link at hand). Anyway, my guess is these 'hackers' might be 'cookbookers' who are just 'following scripts' put out by 'real hackers' (really system crackers). However, as North Korea is a recoginzed 'terrorist state' and has 'The Bomb', this threat should not be taken lightly.

    If the CIA or any other world famous security organization have their act together, all the 'good stuff' is on an internal computer network that has ABSOLUTELY NO CONNECTION TO THE INTERNET (or any other form of 'at large' telecommunications). This is very important as it is impossible to break into such a system -- there is no 'front door' to use to gain access. The usual procedure is to have two computers side by side: one on the secure internal network and the other connected to the internet/unsecure network. A human being is required to type information from the insecure PC to the secure one and vice versa. In this setup, the only way the secrets can get out is if the human in this situation is incompetent, being blackmailed (and told no one who can help them), or an outright traitor -- there are no other alternatives.

    There is a slight chance of passively picking up the secret stuff with a so called TEMPEST attack but surely the IT people at these kind of organizations have already taken measures to make such attacks effectively impossible.

    1. Re:Dupe(?) + My thoughts.... by Spacejock · · Score: 1

      Better if they used an algorythm to generate thousands upon thousands of 'classified reports' which were just meaningless crap. They could hide their genuine content in this rubbish, so that if someone did luck into a genuine page, they wouldn't know whether it was crap or not.

      Oh wait, I just described the world wide web.

    2. Re:Dupe(?) + My thoughts.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These puns are getting so bad that I can hardly bear them anymore.

    3. Re:Dupe(?) + My thoughts.... by bheerssen · · Score: 1

      There is a slight chance of passively picking up the secret stuff with a so called TEMPEST attack but surely the IT people at these kind of organizations have already taken measures to make such attacks effectively impossible.

      When I worked for the Air Force, we had to work in a copper sheilded building; and that was just for 'Sensitive' computing. The folks who work with secret stuff had a fully modern and secure facility located on a remote hill with unobstructed views all round. I haven't seen the computer rooms, but I would not be suprised to see faraday cages and all sorts of electronic counter measures.

      This was on an Air Force base, so I can only imagine what the espionage folks have.

      --
      (Score: -1, Stupid)
    4. Re:Dupe(?) + My thoughts.... by smugfunt · · Score: 1
      North Korea is a recoginzed 'terrorist state'

      Huh? They are frequently called a rogue state and part of the "Axis of Evil" by certain people but I don't recall any allegations of terrorist activity by NK. Do you have any examples or is this just more "join the dots" thinking of the kind that has many Americans believing that Saddam was responsible for 911?
  28. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is it the US's responsibility to take care of NK? We've stationed 30,000 troops there for 50 years so SK could develop into a stable, prosperous nation, I think the US has done more than enough. There are ~200 nations in the world. Maybe a few of the others could, you know, step up to the plate and handle this one from here on out? Everyone wants the US to be multilateral, except of course when there is a shitty, no-win situation to handle. In that case, everyone is taking the proverbial step back and leaving the US standing alone. Fucking cowards. China wants to be a superpower? Well, here you go China. Handle this. The EU thinks its a big player? Fine...have at it. Let's see how you like negotiating with the bat-shit crazy midget. A thankless friggin job to say the least.

  29. Sketchy Information by Quirk · · Score: 1

    The CIA Factbook has little to say, but a Wired article seems to dismiss the threat, although it notes information is hard to come by.

    --
    "Academicians are more likely to share each other's toothbrush than each other's nomenclature."
    Cohen
    1. Re:Sketchy Information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does it really matter? It's on the Internet, so it's accessible from any country.

      Just ask USA-based Linspire, Inc., if it matters. (Microsoft forced the company, then known as LindowsOS, Inc., to stop doing business in Benelux and with Benelux citizens -- no matter where in the world they had addresses -- under their former name.) The 'Net and absurdity-friendly countries mean that the court system of one country can be used against a 'Net-based company in another country, even if none of the parties involved have physical presences in the one country.

    2. Re:Sketchy Information by myowntrueself · · Score: 1

      "The CIA Factbook has little to say"

      This is indeed true when it comes to important matters. And the info in it changes as the geopolitical situation changes.

      If you ever get a chance, take a diff between a pre-2001 edition and a post-2001 edition, especially the parts that deal with military manpower, particularly that of the USA.

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
    3. Re:Sketchy Information by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...until this becomes another SciFi?

  30. Re:War in Iraq by Dr+Kool,+PhD · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One of the reasons we removed Saddam from power was to prevent him from getting nuclear weapons and becoming another Kim Jong-il. You seem to ask why we didn't liberate North Korea instead of Iraq. The reason is simple - if we go after North Korea then millions of our allies in South Korea will die. Seoul is very close to the border, and NK has a ton of missiles aimed at the SK capital right now - possibly some nuclear missiles. Right now the only way to deal with NK is to use diplomacy and to isolate Jong-il from the rest of the world. As each year passes, the world advances and becomes richer while NK stays stuck in 1950 forever. We can afford to wait this one out.

  31. ummm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    *yawn* nm

  32. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Fuck you you brainwashed piece of shit. Liberals are the ACLU. Liberals are PFLAG, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. Ben Franklin, John Kennedy, fucking Bill "Best President Ever" Clinton. Look up the goddamn definition of FASCIST before you go spewing your rhetoric any more. You wind up looking like the moron you are.

    Go jerk off to Sean Hannity and you worthless, useless, spineless, "two wrongs make a right" fucktwat.

  33. Re:War in Iraq by dancingmad · · Score: 2, Informative

    North Korea is not in southeast Asia. Northeast Asia is comprised of China, Japan, and the Koreas (plus places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Okinawa). I'm very much aware that north is a relative term, but my point was that Korea is still Northeast Asia.

    --
    "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
  34. South scared of North, news at 11 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why is Slashdot publishing South Korea's ridiculous anti-North Korean propaganda?

    1. Re:South scared of North, news at 11 by Potor · · Score: 1
      I used to work on the admissions board of a faculty at a very famous European university.

      Two years ago, we received an application from a S.Korean, and I emailed him back advising that we had receieved his application, etc.

      Then, it happened: my office account was added to some anti-N.Korean mailing list, run by the applicant. For weeks, I was treated to his views of N.Korea.

      Moral of the story: The applicant was not accepted.

    2. Re:South scared of North, news at 11 by glesga_kiss · · Score: 1
      Why is Slashdot publishing South Korea's ridiculous anti-North Korean propaganda?

      To make sure we are on the right side of the impending war. Quite simple really:

      1. Build propaganda
      2. Enact 'regime change'
      3. Profit!!
    3. Re:South scared of North, news at 11 by bananasfalklands · · Score: 1
      Well the only thing I used to get from Korea was spam. The British Museum has a fine collection of Korean exhibits.

      George can have his war there is he wants to. - but can america afford it ?

      --
      Send Peter Clifford Francis Macrae comdoms to 23 Bedford St, St.Neots, PE19 1AX, England
  35. Ya, right.. these Leet NK Hax0rs are da b0mb by Adult+film+producer · · Score: 1

    And I bet they play golf like their Glorious Leader does!

  36. Re:War in Iraq by dancingmad · · Score: 1

    The same map in which the Koreas, Japan, China, and regions like Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Okinawa make up East (not southeast) Asia. I'm quite aware that the "north" in North Korea is relative, but if you think North Korea is in southeast Asia, you're a fecking retard.

    --
    "There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter," Jeeves, (Jeeves and the Impending Doom)
  37. Clearly the influence of a dry county by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ministry's Agency for Defense Development (MADD)

    Come on people, don't let Mothers Against Drunk Driving push you around!

  38. C&C Anyone? by teknokracy · · Score: 1

    "LAPTOP IN HAND!"

    1. Re:C&C Anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "NO SYSTEM IS SAFE!"

      Btw, they were CHINESE troops, not NORTH KOREAN!

    2. Re:C&C Anyone? by Omnieiunium · · Score: 1

      You know, I just created a bunch of those guys and got money from the enemy and won. I hated that game.

    3. Re:C&C Anyone? by Anemophilous+Coward · · Score: 1

      "No System is Safe"

      So, do these guys just head out into the fields with their laptops and start ringing in little cash signs above their heads or what?

      -AC

  39. How do they get trained hackers? by gojomo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Maybe they kidnap them from Japan.

    See for example their history of doing the same to acquire knowledge about the outside world:

    http://slate.msn.com/id/2087627/

    1. Re:How do they get trained hackers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      The WSC stays out of your way if you disable ALL the individual features in the correct way (or give it what it wants).

      To disable the firewall portion, do the following:
      1. Open the Security Center
      2. Manage the settings for Windows Firewall
      3. Disable the firewall
      4. Install your own firewall (if you so desire)
      5. If your own firewall isn't compatible with WSC, it will be bitching about no firewall. Click "Recommendations...", and then check "I have a firewall solution that I will monitor myself". That will disable that portion (the WSC will show that in yellow, but it won't bitch).
      6. If it is OK with your firewall, leave it alone. If your firewall fucks up, it'll tell you about it.
      7. If you don't have a firewall, go to "Change the way Windows Security Center alerts me" (on the left pane). Uncheck "Firewall", and click OK.

      Disabling autoupdates (Bad Idea(tm)):
      1. Open the Security Center
      2. Manage settings for Automatic Updates (notice a common thread?)
      3. Turn off automatic updates (PLEASE don't - turn it down, but not off - I'm on cable, so I use auto dl, but not autoinstall)
      4. Go to the "Change how WSC alerts me" thing, and uncheck Automatic Updates IF you disabled them. Otherwise, leave it on - somehow, malware (or clueless users who use your computer) could disable AutoUpdates, and notification would be nice...

      Disabling AV detection:
      1. If you have an AV app, disable it for a sec. Then, go to "Recommendations...", and check "I have an AV program I'll monitor myself". Reenable the AV app, for crying out loud!
      2. If you DON'T, GET ONE! If you don't want one, go to "CHWSCAM", and uncheck "Virus Protection", and prepare to get owned.

      That doesn't TOTALLY fix everything (for example, some things may be at a yellow state), but it won't annoy you. Disabling all alerts will in effect disable WSC entirely. Now, you can use SP2 as a major security update that doesn't fuck with you (and makes IE a little more bearable - get another browser if you're still on IE, while you're at it). Myself, I run Windows Firewall (I know, I know - but, I'm behind a NAT, and am pretty good at managing the apps on here, so I think I'm safe enough) in full mode, AutoUpdates in DL only mode, and Avast! Antivirus in full mode with the WSC (note - Avast has a timebomb if you don't give them your e-mail address (they don't spam), and WSC doesn't pick up that it timebombed).
    2. Re:How do they get trained hackers? by PingPongBoy · · Score: 1

      Maybe they kidnap them from Japan.


      Word of advice: act retarded in public.

      --
      Know your pads. One time pad: good for cryptography. Two timing pad: where to take your mistress.
  40. KAHHHHHHNNNN!!!! by artoffacts · · Score: 1

    I once saw The Wrath of Kahn dubbed in Pakistani. The "KAAHHHHHHHNNNNN" line was mysteriously removed and replaced with a "nothing to see hear" placard.

    1. Re:KAHHHHHHNNNN!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Listen up, you stupid fuck.

      "here" is not spelled "hear".

      Jesus jumped up Christ, you'd think people would have gone to the spelling bee in third grade.

    2. Re:KAHHHHHHNNNN!!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Although I find spelling mistakes just as much irritating as you do, I think your reply was a bit too much, as I think maybe spelling it "hear" was an intended pun on his part. I mean, it should actually have been "Nothing to hear here", but "Nothing to see/hear" is appropriate as well.

    3. Re:KAHHHHHHNNNN!!!! by artoffacts · · Score: 1

      what can i say ... the translation was terrible too.

    4. Re:KAHHHHHHNNNN!!!! by eyeye · · Score: 1

      There is no such language as "pakistani" and why would they deliberately change it, khan is a common family name like "Smith" is in england (and its colonies ^_^ ). Maybe you posted to the wrong story as there doesn't seem to be any link between your post and this story.

      --
      Bush and Blair ate my sig!
  41. Re:War in Iraq by Goeland86 · · Score: 1

    Ok, first off, China won't handle it because of conflicting interests: It's interested in the SK economy, but ideologically NK is more likely to be their "friend". Second: Europe has had its own share of wars and enough internal problems to deal with. Once those problems are dealt with, maybe we'll see something happening. Third: The US has a national debt deeper than a black hole! The US owes money to everyone, so guess what, they bargain! They say "you owe us this much, so go take care of that, and we'll scrap that much off your debt". Of course, to go in and fix things costs $$, and we borrow more money... Thus it's a vicious circle, which our president obviously has NO CLUE of, since he virtually sank our debt when he took power. At least Clinton had realized the problem and was trying to get us independent! Now you go and think like that, and we'll be in a deeper shithole than we already are. Oh, and by the way, the US has less population than Europe, and China dwarves just about anyone on the planet. Should they try an invasion anywhere, they're guaranteed success just because of numbers. Just because we've got technology for "surgical strikes" doesn't mean we can stop everything. What good is a surgical strike going to do against 10,000 people coming after us? Get a basic idea of military strategy and a few reality checks now and then. I don't believe NK can dedicate that many ressources to hackers. More likely they're multiplying those numbers by 10 to make it sound great, but to tell you the truth, the hackers are probably under constant surveillance, because the leader trusts no one who has had contact with the outside. Besides, he didn't say it was the US' job to take care of the problem, did he? He just compared their hackers to what our CIA can do. Which, to be honest, is rather poor a standard. A comparison to the NSA would've been a better choice, if their level was good. Obviously they're confused. And I can't blame them. The whole planet has the impression the CIA is spying on them, thanks to those great myths created by Gary Powell and the Cuban Missile crisis... Times change, myths too, but usually they don't disappear, they get shadier the whole time.

    --
    ---- I am certain of only one thing : I know nothing else.
  42. Re:War in Iraq by toddbu · · Score: 1
    Look, words like "North" and "South" are relative terms... Just because it's called "North Korea" doesn't mean it's to the north of everything on earth.

    As soon as the north magnetic pole drifts over N. Korea then it will be. That is, until the Earth's magnetic poles flip, at which time it will south of everything.

    --
    If you don't want crime to pay, let the government run it.
  43. The Korea Times by TheLearnerX · · Score: 2, Informative

    The Korea Times has a more informative version of this article.

    1. Re:The Korea Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indeed. I prepared a summary of the article, for those who are interested.

      In an annual conference on cyber security at Korea University in Seoul, Byun Jae-jung, a researcher at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), said Pyongyang's computer hacking capabilities have reached the level... ...A series of cyber simulations have proven that.....He did not elaborate, citing security reasons.
      Byun called on the government to increase the budget for the buildup of the core capability needed to cope with advanced scientific and information warfare, especially for the protection of information.


      IMHO, that sums it up quite nicely.

    2. Re:The Korea Times by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's the reason for the report right here:

      "Byun called on the government to increase the budget for the buildup of the core capability needed to cope with advanced scientific and information warfare, especially for the protection of information. "

      The dude is just looking to increase funding for his area of work.

  44. Re:War in Iraq by Jack+Taylor · · Score: 1

    One of the reasons we removed Saddam from power was to prevent him from getting nuclear weapons and becoming another Kim Jong-il.

    Actually, it wasn't known that Korea had nuclear weapons until after the end of the Iraq war - the war ended halfway through 2003 and Korea claimed they had nukes in September 2004.

    --
    One good turn - gets all the covers.
  45. Three letters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    E.M.P.

  46. They would have to be based outside NK by RexRhino · · Score: 1

    This could be true, but the hackers would have to be based outside North Korea.

    Why? Because NK doesn't have a whole slew of bandwidth coming in / going out. Every single packet going in/out of NK is probably intercepted by the U.S. and S. Korea. And it would not be any sort of disruption to cut off NK internet access.

    However, I am assuming NK could send covert agents to SK, and launch their cyber attack there. Intercepting and analysing all packets would not be an option with a wired country like SK... and cutting off SK from the U.S. would not be economicly or politicly viable, if it could even be done.

    Personally, I am not worried about some great cyber attack. Every day on the Internet is a cyber attack. There are people who are not affiliated with any government, and maybe aren't even political, who are probably just as good as NK hackers, and do all kinds of mischief and mayhem every day. In a strange way, all the hackers, work creaters, script kiddies, and zombie spammers have made the net immune to any sort of attack (because any sort of attack would probably be unnoticable from any normal day).

    1. Re:They would have to be based outside NK by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      MySQL runs just fine on the BSDs, Linux, and even Windows. Every project on the face of the planet that uses threads has to be re-written for the sake of Darwin/OS X?


  47. Sure, maybe the NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Read "Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the ultra-secret National Security Agency; from the cold war through the dawn of a new century" by James Bamford.

    1. Re:Sure, maybe the NSA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm proud to say that our country is just as destructive and sneaky as yours. ... Oh, wait.

  48. The U.S. Air Force, Actually by kingofalaska · · Score: 1
    The U.S. Air Force has a very serious program directed at taking down networks, taking over C&C systems, and a whole lot more. While the operational details may be secret, the general information is out there. And it's not fluff as I suspect this 'revelation' by North Korea is.

    President Bush to Liberate Alaska!

    1. Re:The U.S. Air Force, Actually by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Let me start out with the obvious, how about the FSF? Maybe see if one of their lawyers could be a trustee?

      ~Rebecca

    2. Re:The U.S. Air Force, Actually by kosmicki · · Score: 1

      C&C? Is it just Generals or are they going after Zero Hour systems as well?

  49. Yes, but our best hackers aren't at the CIA by Pinefresh · · Score: 4, Funny

    they're in their mothers basements.

  50. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Who should get the LinuxFund Money?

    • Linus Torvalds
    • The Free Software Foundation
    • EFF
    • The Homeless Lunix Programmers Fund
    • Divy it up according to lines of code contributed to the kernal
    • CowboyNeal

    Crow T. Trollbot


  51. Communists don't like ties? by Man+in+Spandex · · Score: 1

    Why don't those communists wear any ties?

    Because.... we all know a hacker is a short-sleeved man with a tie!

    1. Re:Communists don't like ties? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Linux? If I have never have to use vi to set up a simple routing configuration again, it will be WAY too soon.

      vi? Where do you *have* to use vi? Is it meant to stand for [any plaintext editor]?

      Granted, editing text configs *can* be less friendly in certain situations (it can also be a lot more flexible and straightforward); but I guess invoking the name of vi (which has a reputation for being arcane) makes textual config sound more complex than it actually is.

      I use and like vi in preference to Emacs (vi IMHO is less friendly on the surface, but more straightforward than Emacs once you know the basic keys). BUT.... we're discussing its reputation here, and it seems this is being exploited to make your case.

      Don't like vi? Use a different editor, but don't try to rub vi's alleged arcaneness off onto text editing in general.

    2. Re:Communists don't like ties? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      because they aren't slaves to the capitalist pig dog system that makes you wear a noose round your neck if you want to live.

    3. Re:Communists don't like ties? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, you only have to work in the fields 18 hours a day if you don't want you and your family sent to the gulags to be murdered.

      Communist psychopath.

  52. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your Linux on G5 performance figures are here

  53. Hmm... by d474 · · Score: 2, Funny

    |<1|\/| j0|\|8 i1-337

    --
    Authority questions you. Return the favor.
    1. Re:Hmm... by d474 · · Score: 1

      Where the hell are all these random comments coming from? They have nothing to do with the article nor the parent. WTF?

      --
      Authority questions you. Return the favor.
    2. Re:Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Let me translate: Kim Jong Il-eet.

      It's on topic, it's funny, but, admittedly, it's a bit esoteric.

  54. 'Seen North Korea Month Ago by bohemian_observer · · Score: 0

    Reportes from local news got into North Korea with our politicians couple of weeks ago. I've seen "the documentary" from the unholy land yesterday. I have to tell ya that even in the capital there are major electricity outages, hunger and upset people all over. But the most frightening was when I saw a young woman in the interview cheering their leaders and military. Most of the people interviewed was acting like psychopats voiceing that demagogy litany of theirs. "Leader" pictures in every other room on the walls. I am quite afraid that the damage this regine done to that poor people will not be so easy to undone. The common sence was whiped out from the society. I would not be surpriced to see them attaking any target of oportunity in the near future.

    1. Re:'Seen North Korea Month Ago by glesga_kiss · · Score: 0, Troll
      sed s/North Korea/America:

      Reportes from local news got into America with our politicians couple of weeks ago. I've seen "the documentary" from the holy land yesterday. I have to tell ya that even in the capital there are major electricity outages, hunger and upset people all over. But the most frightening was when I saw a young woman in the interview cheering their leaders and military. Most of the people interviewed was acting like psychopats voiceing that godly litany of theirs. "Leader" pictures in every other room on the walls. I am quite afraid that the damage this regine done to that poor people will not be so easy to undone. The common sence was whiped out from the society. I would not be surpriced to see them attaking any target of oportunity in the near future.

      You really asked for that didn't you? Go to the back of the class...

    2. Re:'Seen North Korea Month Ago by bohemian_observer · · Score: 0

      No I didn't thx, but nice answer indeed, UK pacifist? I am not an pacifist and not an American either, still I am glad what US did and do in Iraq and elsewhere. Iraq, if nothing else was the answer to the 9/11. And to be even more offtopic: there is a castle build in the middle ages on the hill beneath my house, and that was build especially against these Islamist's warlords that attacked us numerous times. World withou US army would be a dangerous place my fried, ask a jew in the Israel, he will tell ya, where is the "problem".

  55. Re:War in Iraq by britneys+9th+husband · · Score: 1

    In other words, North Carolina is a Southern state, while South Dakota is not.

    --
    Hear recorded Slashdot headlines on your phone! New service beta testing. Just call (248) 434-5508
  56. Remember Iraq? by Pastis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "Iraq has the 4th largest army in the world". That's what they kept telling us before the first Iraq war.

    Now North Korea has an almost as big army of hackers as US...

    Pattern or coincidence?

    1. Re:Remember Iraq? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Read Orwell, and his theory of continuous warfare.

      To paraphrase, if the American people weren't being told that ``there's a war going on'', they wouldn't be voting as they do.

    2. Re:Remember Iraq? by hhawk · · Score: 1

      sure #'s lie and bigger isn't always better.. Iraq did have some hard core troops.. Nothing that could withstand US air power.. it wasn't like we battled it out in the trenches (ala' WWI).

      But NK has access to top Soviet and Chinese Technology and a spy network that could bring them any needed US technology (or that from Japan).

      --
      http://www.hawknest.com/
    3. Re:Remember Iraq? by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 1
      "Iraq has the 4th largest army in the world". That's what they kept telling us before the first Iraq war.
      To survive a war w/ Iran, they absolutely needed to have one that big.

      Keep those numbers in mind whenever the current administration tells you that the insurgency is populated by dead-enders who are fighting so hard because the insurgency itself is on its last legs...
      --
      [o]_O
    4. Re:Remember Iraq? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have this audio from a '77 interview with Hunter S. Thompson. A college kid asked him about David Rockefellar, and how he felt about him being appointed to the tri-lateral commission.

      He rambled on about this, but later he stumbled onto talking about communists in south america, and how low level American diplomats and soldiers contributed massive and unnatural strength to the enemy in order to justify their existence.

      So in this sense with Iraq, and maybe in the future North Korea, we will delcare that they are capable of destroying us with a single blow and announce the soon destruction of the United States. Remember, Bush was a lame duck when we was selected to office, and when the war in Iraq was being sold in 2003, people we're already happy with the war in Afghanistan. Bush needed another war to justify his existence. Now the war in the Iraq is getting old, people want out. Bush still has 3+ years more in his second term, he's become a lame duck again, and we need a threat so he can become popular once more.

      This is just what these people do to start wars. You either destroy monuments or symbols of your country, attribute it to an enemy, skip the part about showing the country evidence, and then go to war. Then profit!!!

      There's 1 trillion dollars not accounted for in charges and purchases at the pentagon. I thought these guys wouldn't misplace or waste our tax dollars, like those nasty liberals, but they are experts at it.

      I think we're going to attack Venezuela next, they have the largest oil and natural gas reserves in the northern hemisphere, and its all nationalized, so no U.S. company is profiting from it. (You heard it here first on slashdot)

  57. Simple Answer.... by Ecko7889 · · Score: 0

    The Government is built on a governmental build of Windows...Hum.....www.google.com ->Search windows flaws....On the other hand...North Korea, "communist" and anti-capitalist, can't think about contributing to those capitalist pigs. Linux it is!

    --
    $sig$
  58. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Holy crap! Where did you get the idea of comparing OS's to cars?!? Genius.

    If metaphors were cars this would be the big honking overcrowded city bus that everyone's ridden and smells vaguely of urine.

  59. Re:War in Iraq by DustyShadow · · Score: 1

    Um no, we knew they had nukes, they just didn't admit it until a little while ago.

  60. My question is: How the hell would he know? by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I mean first it's the NSA that concerns itself with electrionic intelligence, not the CIA. The CIA is about human intelligence. Also an offensive tasking seems like it would more likely be a DoD thing, Airforce maybe though who knows. NSA/CIA are more about intelligence gathering than any kind of direct offensive support, at least offically.

    At any rate, how the hell would this guy have any idea how good they are, espically given he can't keep the agencies straight? I mean the NSA is very secretive, they don't say much on how they operate, what particularly they do, etc. The nature of an intelligence agency. What's more, there hasn't been a conflict where any sort of US syber warfare division would have had much to do to demonstrate their prowess.

    So we have no information on training, no public demonstrations of capabilities, and no wartime demonstrations. Ok, great, so basically anything we say about it is total specualtion. The US's capability could be anything from three teenagers playing Counterstrike all day to a huge team of the best trained hackers in the world. There's just no way to know.

    So it looks like this guy is talking out his ass on the US capabilities, which makes me think he's probably doing the same on North Korean capabilites. I mean they may have lots, they may have none, but who knows?

    However it really seems to be of little concern, given that North Korea has little Internet access to their nation. I mean people in the US and Europe tend to take for granted the large number of well connected providers around, that's not the case in NK. It wouldn't take much to totally cut them off from the rest of the Internet.

    Besdies, in theory at least, all US military control and all classified data travels on networks physically seperate from the Internet. Goes back to the Kennedy assanation where the government found the PSTN so clogged they couldn't communicate and so worke don getting their own. Today the policy, and hopefulyl the implementation, is an air gap: physical seperation of classified networks from the Internet. So a "cyber attack" might screw a bunch of people with in secure comptuers for a couple days, but it wouldn't stop the B-2s from comming.

    1. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, don't you play Splinter Cell? Sam Fisher is going to single-handedly take out North Korea.

      BTW, what's up with all these off-topic autogenerated crap posts in this thread?

    2. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, don't you play Splinter Cell? Sam Fisher is going to single-handedly take out North Korea.

      Well, believing in Chaos Theory doesn't mean you have to surrender to it. So that's why Sam Fisher eliminates the threat.

      BTW, what's up with all these off-topic autogenerated crap posts in this thread?

      Are you sure you're not getting hacked? Those North Koreans can have a way of getting into your head.

    3. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 1

      I mean first it's the NSA that concerns itself with electrionic intelligence, not the CIA. The CIA is about human intelligence.

      Nope. The NSA is about security, not intel. (See the name? "National Security Agency") Their job is to defend against outside intel organizations.

      The CIA is about foreign intel, not specifically human intel. (See the name? "Central Intelligence Agency") In fact, the majority of the CIA's budget goes to electronic or signal intel, not human intelligence, which was a mistake. This misplaced priority exposed them to numerous embarassing failures, from the collapse of the USSR all the way down to the alledged Iraqi WMD.

    4. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by CHESTER+COPPERPOT · · Score: 1
      The CIA is about human intelligence.

      Actually no, that's not its only function. The CIA has many functions with HUMINT actually being one of the smallest, though arguably the most important. It is split up into different departments with the Directorate of Intelligence being the largest. The DI specializes in Analysis and reporting. The Directorate of Operations, which specializes in human intelligence is what you are referring too. The CIA also have a paramilitary wing which was extensively used in Afghanistan. The paramil wing has a role similar to the special forces. It also has a Research and Development wing, which specializes in intelligence technology.

      Also an offensive tasking seems like it would more likely be a DoD thing, Airforce maybe though who knows.

      The proper parlance is the intelligence world is covert action. And with many departments these days trying to keep up with netwarriors (I don't mean hackers, check the link) they have to assume organisational and offensive formlessness and take up roles which in the past they wouldn't have taken up. This includes the use of covert action by agencies that were considered pre-9/11 as collection agencies.

      Just to clarify for some /.'ers who may have a narrow view of intelligence. The intelligence world is split up into collection (HUMINT, SIGINT, IMINT, OSINT etc.), analysis, covert action and counter-intelligence. Pre-9/11 most agencies were traditional set in stone in these areas, however due to 4th Generational warriors and netwarriors the traditional agencies have had to change in the areas of organisation, doctrine and culture. So don't think that traditional agencies still keep their same roles. Their roles are blurred and operate under a complete different set of rules from the soviet era.

    5. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by Detritus · · Score: 1
      Nope. The NSA is about security, not intel. (See the name? "National Security Agency") Their job is to defend against outside intel organizations.

      They do both. From their mission statement:

      The Information Assurance mission provides the solutions, products, and services, and conducts defensive information operations, to achieve information assurance for information infrastructures critical to U.S. national security interests.

      The foreign signals intelligence or SIGINT mission allows for an effective, unified organization and control of all the foreign signals collection and processing activities of the United States. NSA is authorized to produce SIGINT in accordance with objectives, requirements, and priorities established by the Director of Central Intelligence with the advice of the National Foreign Intelligence Board.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    6. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by dj28 · · Score: 1

      You are completely wrong in your premise. It amazes me how many slashbots state unthruths as fact.

      The CIA is not only a collections agency. The NSA is only a collections agency, just like the State Department's INR. The CIA is an all source, multifunction agency tasked with collections, synthesis of information to policy makers, and execution of presidential policy decisions and some counter-intelligence operations (overseas - FBI maintains counter-intelligence in the homeland). They are directly tasked with assassinations (since presidential directive after 9/11) and espionage.

      Oh, and the NSA operates under the DoD, just like 80% of the national intelligency budget.

      Go back to reading your sci-fi, uninformed slashbot.

    7. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 1

      They are directly tasked with assassinations (since presidential directive after 9/11)

      Which executive order number is that, specifically? The one you claim supercedes 12333, I mean.

    8. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by hughk · · Score: 1
      Besdies, in theory at least, all US military control and all classified data travels on networks physically seperate from the Internet. Goes back to the Kennedy assanation where the government found the PSTN so clogged they couldn't communicate and so worke don getting their own. Today the policy, and hopefulyl the implementation, is an air gap: physical seperation of classified networks from the Internet.
      I seem to remember an incident where a tiger team working for the USN were able to demonstrate an attck from the 'public' internet though a base to a carrier and then from the carrier to an aircraft in flight where they had access to some non-flight systems. Note that neither the carrier nor the aircraft was in an EMCON regime (locked down radio comms), so the compromised systems may have been isolated in war. Note the Tiger Team assumed and had technical knowledge of the systems compromised, but no special passwords or access to tokens.

      Clean separations and airgaps may be the 'nirvana' but with the hodge-podge of systems, and frequently large numbers of contractors required for operational support, it is quite conceivable that any large network may not be as clean as it should be.

      --
      See my journal, I write things there
    9. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by dj28 · · Score: 1

      It was widely reported right after 9/11 that Bush has lifted the 25 year moratorium on directed assassinations. That is what gave the President the authority to call for bin laden's death.

      It's not hard to search the New York Times or Google yourself.

    10. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 1

      It's not hard to search the New York Times or Google yourself.

      Correct, a Google search isn't hard, and all the results suggest you are wrong.

      It's not hard to search the New York Times or Google yourself.

      If it weren't hard, then probably YOU could've found out what the number is.

      If the executive order isn't public, then the change is unofficial, and any member of the CIA who attempts an assasination is guilty of MURDER (as is anyone who ordered it, up to and including the President).

    11. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by dj28 · · Score: 1
    12. Re:My question is: How the hell would he know? by dj28 · · Score: 1

      Where the hell are you getting your information? Fox news? Have you even read up on the structure of the intelligence community? I'll start from the beginning.

      First, the NSA *is* a intelligence agency. It's purpose is SIGINT (notice the INT) and protection of domestic information against foreign spying. Read their mission statement if you are too braindead to do any real research.

      Second, the CIA does not control sigint, such as spy satellites (where the pictures of supposed Iraqi WMD came from). The NRO does.

      I seriously suggest you read about what you try to talk about. Start with 'Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy' by Lowenthal.

  61. Hackers you say? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As big as the CIA? Better have a budget increase then! Evidence, no, don't worry about that, the South Korean people are right behind you in your efforts to combat these hackers.

  62. Fear for funds? by TheLearnerX · · Score: 1

    How does Dr. Byeon (Byun?) Jae-jeong know what capabilities the CIA has? If South Korea is aware of "39 wiretapping devices", shouldn't they be able to shut them down? Assuming all of this is true, even if the US power grid is hacked into and knocked out by North Korea, would it really take that long to get it back up and running? The Blackout of 2003 didn't seem to be a huge catastrophe. I *highly* doubt that US Pacific Command is vulnerable to any sort of internet attack, but I could be wrong. (From The Korea Times) "Byun called on the government to increase the budget for the buildup of the core capability needed to cope with advanced scientific and information warfare, especially for the protection of information." Maybe this guy just wants more money and is willing to make stuff up to get it?

    1. Re:Fear for funds? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's no OpenLinux, FreeLinux or NetLinux. I think that proves that *BSD forks at least 3 times faster than Linux.

  63. Re:War in Iraq by drgonzo59 · · Score: 1
    You say that:
    "US has less population than Europe, and China dwarves just about anyone on the planet. Should they try an invasion anywhere, they're guaranteed success just because of numbers. Just because we've got technology for "surgical strikes" doesn't mean we can stop everything. What good is a surgical strike going to do against 10,000 people coming after us?" I don't think it is you who doesn't understand how strategy and tactics work. What good are your 10,000 people if I knock down their power station, fuel and food suply, and use an EMP weapon to disable their communication and electronics, they are just as good as 10,000 cows ready to get slaughtered. Or maybe they'll just start jumping in sync hoping to cause an earthquake. We are long past the "let's dig trenches and shoot each other with machines guns for months on end without gaining any ground." The one who has the technology wins today not the one who has the numbers. Look at the numbers of US military casualties in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan versus the casualties of the other side, that will explain what "surgical strikes" can do.

  64. Real Ultimate Hack Power!!!!!1111 by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    hackers can hack anyone they want! Hackers cut off syslogs ALL the time and don't even think twice about it. These guys are so crazy and awesome that they flip out ALL the time. I heard that there was this hacker who was eating at a diner. And when some dude dropped a packet the hacker hacked the whole town. My friend Mark said that he saw a hacker totally kernel rootkit some kid just because the kid opened a terminal.

    And that's what I call REAL Ultimate Power!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  65. Old, and probably untrue by TorKlingberg · · Score: 1
    Something very similar was reported years ago

    And as much as I would prefer living in the south to the north any day, information about North Korea coming from the south is not very reliable.

    1. Re:Old, and probably untrue by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is all something we accept when we click "OK" to Google's TOS, without even reading it. If you don't like it, you can always use some other alternative, no guarantees that it will be able to match up with what Google can provide.

      With that said, who is to say other companies don't do the same thing? You honestly think once you delete an email with another service, say, Hotmail, it is instantly evaporated off their servers? Of course not.

  66. Point and counterpoint by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The article may have a point. Of course, that point is it's own counterpoint. How often have people used things like Google's cached copy of data or the Wayback Machine to prove that a company really did say or claim something after they'd removed or altered the claim and denied ever saying/claiming the original? Google's long memory cuts both ways, and I think it's too useful for keeping track of things to give it up just because it might track my things. And of course it can also be used to counter people who might claim I changed my tune or concealed something when I didn't.


  67. several assumptions has to be made by krunk4ever · · Score: 1

    He claims the DPRK hackers to be 'equal to that of the CIA,' whatever that might mean.

    1. S. Korea knows how good N. Korean hackers are. meaning they've seen their work or have been attacked.
    2. S. Korea knows how good CIA hackers are through the same methods.
    3. CIA's hacking qualities has to be 'up there' or else making the comparison would be meaningless.

    1. Re:several assumptions has to be made by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What is keeping *them* from just downloading a copy? If not them, they someone they hire or pay off. It is certainly a step in the right direction I think, and it might actually help Napster in this case, but in the long run I am not so sure how much of an effect it will have. At least it will mean that they probably don't have the correct evidence to sue a lot of people they wanted to, but all the new cases in the future won't have that problem I bet. Does anyone else see why this would mean more then just some old cases not having enough evidence?

    2. Re:several assumptions has to be made by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Have you ever administered/troubleshooted 20+ PCs remotely >using 2k.
      >Right, you cant.

      Yes you can. It's called VNC.

    3. Re:several assumptions has to be made by robbinjapan · · Score: 1

      Or it could be that the S. Koreans are just making this up to show that the North is an even greater threat.

      There's something called Mutally Assured Destruction (MAD). The South really needs the backing of the US and allies; the North that should anything happen to their failed state (such as a US air attack), they will obliterate Seoul. I think that's the main reason why the US can't mess with them right now. That, and China.

      Feel free to disagree with me, but I'm just trying to bring attention to the fact that the South might not be entirely truthful in these kinds of statements (hackers in N. Korea).

  68. Thank you by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    slashdot so much for another non-news article intended to spark heated discussion.

    On today's front page so far we've had:

    OSS: Europe vs. the USA

    Gaming: Nintendo vs. Sony

    Gaming: PCs vs. Consoles

    Gaming: Sex & Gender vs. Gender

    Platforms: Apple vs. Intel combined with MAC vs. Linux.

    Google: New feature

    Google: Owns all your data, again.

    Linux & Apache: Used by popular (real) news site (wow).


    Next up:
    Flames vs. Yawns vs. News, the slashdot version of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

    Sure, this is a troll, flame whatever. But isn't that what we do here lately?/p

  69. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    This isn't 1952 and the ChiComs aren't going to flood across the border to defend NK. North Korea is nobody's friend. To China, North Korea is that retarded cousin who, because they are somewhat family, they'll still pay a modest amount of lip service to. That old nostalgia for the good ol days will only serve NK so much. Right now, it serves China's interest to play dumb and let the US handle this alone. If the US succeeds, no skin off China's nose (unless NK refugees become a problem). If the US fails, they can always say "Hey, it wasn't our fault! We had nothing to do with it." That's why no one else is stepping up. They don't want to get smeared with the shit sandwich.

    And you want to play a little military strategy McArthur? Fine. In any military scenario, the 30,000 US troops in SK are dead. Period. That's why they are there in the first place. Any action by NK ensures a US response due to their presence. Americans will not tolerate the loss of 2-3 divisions of troops without a massive retaliation (most likely nuclear). Also, you can write off a few hundred thousand South Koreans as well. No way to protect them if the North starts shelling or lobs a nuke or two. So, the US has lost 30,000 troops and a few hundred thousand S. Koreans are dead. Now what? Well, here come the B-2s, the B-1bs and the payload of most of the Pacific based US nuclear missile subs. Surgical strikes? Who the hell cares? NK is toast in 24-48 hours. After that, a few tense days where we await China's response, which probably won't amount to much given the economic ties they now have with the West. And that's the *optimistic* scenario. Heaven help us if NK tried to launch a nuke at the continental US (hell, they're just as likely to hit Vancouver as they are Seattle or Portland, still think Canada doesn't need to get involved?)

    The facts are that any military option sucks donkey balls, for the Koreans most of all. There simply is no way to protect the population of Japan and South Korea (short of pre-emption, and even that blows goats). The interesting thing is, the South Koreans were prepared to allow Clinton to pre-emptively strike NK back in 1994. Remember that? People tend to forget that little escapade which had the White House mere hours away from evacuating US citizens from SK in preparation for a pre-emptive smackdown.

    The rest of the world needs to wake up in a damn hurry and do whatever it takes to help out. Because if this NK thing goes sour, standing on the sidelines snickering at Dubya is going to be cold comfort compared to the horrors of the resulting world.

  70. Ruling is Important by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think this is a very important development for P2P file sharing. It will make the threshhold of proof much higher for sharers to be sued. The one thing that it won't help is the MPAA & individual studios sending an infringement notice letter to the sharer's ISP and spineless ISPs suspending people's accounts./p

  71. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We do switch to other alternatives. But the people who blindly click though need to know about such things. There are good reasons not to use Google, this is one of them.

  72. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Keep in mind Google's motto is: "Do No Evil". Making it possible for others to do evil is thus acceptable under the terms of the motto.

  73. How to Tell If Your System Has Been Hacked by Dharma's+Dad · · Score: 1
    North Korea 'employs 500-600 hackers who are tasked with hacking into computer networks....

    You can spot the affected systems right away - the screens are frozen and display the cryptic message: "All your base belong to us!"

  74. Imagine how bittorrent is affected by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So participating in a bittorrent may not be proof of wrong doing anymore. Would Fox now have to prove that someone actually came away from the swarm with a full Simpsons episode and that all of the bits came from me?

    Discuss, discuss

  75. Statistics by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most of Google's magic is really data mining the semantic data from the Internet.

    Gmail is nothing more than an attempt at getting a massive corpus of data on which to let their algorithms loose.

    I really think that, while there is potential for abuse, this is really the only way to tackle their problem space. After all, Google doesn't really rank web sites, people do. It's just that Google has some really clever ways for determining that people liked a web site.

    Sometimes it relates to webs of links, sometimes it relates to combinations of words, but Google's software doesn't deal in semantics--only algorithmically generating statistics from the data generated by people.

    I don't worry so much about Google, I worry about our future AI overlords. Although, if a truly scalable Artificial Intelligence ever gets Internet access, I fear it has the potential to know us better than we do.

  76. Re:War in Iraq by Neoprofin · · Score: 0

    Quite a large section of the US debt is held by Americans in the form of US savings bonds, which are in effect a way of investing in the future of this country. Clinton did a lovely job of balancing the budget by crippling US intelligence, cutting educational programs and doing just about anything possible to save a buck and then claiming the glory of a balanced budget as everyone else desperately tr0ied to adjust their budgets to get by.

  77. SOFTWARE ERROR!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SOFTWARE ERROR!! This story contains comments from another story, about a Linux fund.

  78. Ever heard about the term botnet ? by Gopal.V · · Score: 3, Informative
    > The average cable modem user in America has more bandwidth than their entire country.

    The country itself need not have enough bandwidth. Distributed DoS could take down a box using american zombie PCs. And let me tell you, there is no dearth of those. An attack from the inside of the network is perfectly possible - ever read Andromeda Strain ?. A compromised machine inside your network would need you to have a LOT of scissors :)

    > It's hard to afford computers and network access when 99.9% of your GDP goes to support your military and feed your people.

    Cyber warfare is military funded ... It is military without all the blood and guts routine - with all the Art of War fire tactics.

    1. Re:Ever heard about the term botnet ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why are MBAs so in love with The Art of War? It's Chinese - you know, the people who only ever won a single war, against a pacifist nation they outnumbered 20 to 1.

  79. Wait For the Appeal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, let me see. If you offer to share something but no one takes it, it isn't considered distribution.

    In other words, if you post copyrighted material on the net but no one downloads anything, you're fine.

    A flaky decision. Wait for the appeal.

  80. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1. 10,000 people isnt that many
    2. There would not be any place for anyone to attack our mainland.

  81. Re:War in Iraq by AvantLegion · · Score: 2, Insightful
    What a ringing endorsement for your link, Air America Radio. Can't express yourself without calling someone else a "stupid fuck"? How typical.

  82. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If they were somehow compelled to keep such logs, what would happen is that all traffic would be passed through an SSL tunnel.

    An ISP would have logs to show that something was transmitted between you and the server in question, but they wouldn't know what.

    LK

  83. Common sense? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This seems to me like a victory for common sense. Using the fact that someone offers you files named, checksummed or otherwise identified as a specific song/resource is and should be no proof that those files are either being transferred or distributed. There were cases of this kind of stupidity with the RIAA sending out threats to people with files named with artist's and track names, without even verifying the contents, and this is clearly overstepping the mark. Until they can prove and verify that what you're offering is the valid song, and that you have actually distributed copies of it, it would seem highly bizarre that they could claim you were performing those acts.

  84. what a joke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    mod this troll down, for:

    strawman, nationalism, hyperbole.

    and uhh, lack of meaning.

  85. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Besides all the "eyecandy" of Windows XP, what is the difference between this and 2k? I mean, they use the same kernel don't they? So if they are pretty much the same system, one "better" for desktop users and the other "better" for more experienced users, why discontinue support for one?

  86. humm. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So what does this mean for Bit torrent trackers?
    They offer just a hash not the actual file.

  87. I dont think this isn the end just yet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A lot of companies I have visited recently still use Win2000 as their main desktop, have not yet and are unlikely to move to XP and will probably wait for a stable longhorn before changing. Given thats a couple of years away I think MS will have to support it by popular demand for a bit longer than they would like too.

  88. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Also keep in mind that diplomacy was tried all throughout the 1990s and early 2000s to prevent North Korea from producing nuclear weapons.

    A lot of good that did.

  89. W2K by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is that the final nail? I am still working with W2K - and I see no reason to upgrade.

  90. OK, MAYbe by Linux_ho · · Score: 1

    I'm not going to say our guys are smarter than their guys. But something tells me they don't have anywhere NEAR the cool toys that the CIA has to play with. Crypto smackdown, bring it on.

    --
    include $sig;
    1;
    1. Re:OK, MAYbe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeh..these guys must have some serious kit ... NK will definalty not have the ca$h even to match the CIA budget when it comes to buying kit.

      Do you reckon the CIA has access to a Cray..probably, do you think NK has access to a Cray...doubt it.

    2. Re:OK, MAYbe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, but...

      I don't see what the hell difference a super computer makes.

      Information warfare is all about being asymentric.

      Maybe you'll realize that when you can't watch CSI or the fox network "news" propaganda because your power went out.

    3. Re:OK, MAYbe by Linux_ho · · Score: 1

      I don't see what the hell difference a super computer makes.

      Information warfare is all about being asymentric.
      There's this little thing you might have heard of called encryption. It's hard to break with smaller, slower computers. It's easier to break with bigger, faster computers. And if you can get custom-designed hardware for the application you have in mind, like for instance factoring very very very large numbers, then it gets a lot easier. In some cases, it can be the difference between centuries of computing time and months.

      --
      include $sig;
      1;
  91. Re:War in Iraq by ultranova · · Score: 1

    Actually, it wasn't known that Korea had nuclear weapons until after the end of the Iraq war - the war ended halfway through 2003 and Korea claimed they had nukes in September 2004.

    Seems to me that the Iraq war is still going on - after all, US troops (and Iraqi civilians) keep on getting attacked and killed there.

    --

    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  92. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Maybe after we take out Kim we can move on to problems that aren't manufactured or risk plunging the nation into fascism and theocracy, and that actually HELP people!"

    I'll agree that you're a fucking moron now. Your foot is implanted firmly in your mouth.

  93. What about the ghettos, gang fights and the poor? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bang! You nailed it. Why are we so concerned about 'liberating' a country in the Middle East while we still have our huge problems? Lots of people living in poor suburbs, gang killings, huge unemployment rates, no medical insurance for poor people, etc., etc.

  94. The CIA was disbanded... by thrill12 · · Score: 1

    ...8 years ago, as this article will show you.

    When the Koreans find out the western world is using PC's now instead of the Amiga 500's they got off the black-market, they will surely shiver when they realize their X-Copy Pro skills are useless.

    --
    Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
  95. What A Shame! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    However, 'the idea of obtaining DNA from dinosaurs, depicted in the film Jurassic Park, remains science fiction.'

    Yes, what a shame. Unfortunately because of limitations with current technology and scientific knowledge, we won't be able to reproduce a race of ancient evil uber bears bent on destroying humans and swiping pic-a-nic baskets.

    Cue the "I welcome our new Ancient Bear Overlords" comments.....


  96. Re:War in Iraq by eyeye · · Score: 1
    We are long past the "let's dig trenches and shoot each other with machines guns for months on end without gaining any ground.


    Bar actual *trenches* (they use sandbags?) that sounds pretty much like Iraq to me. The US still doesnt have full control of baghdad.

    I know the US soldier deaths to iraqi civilian deaths ratio is still pretty impressive but this just shows the correct conclusion is "Technology means we can kill more of them while losing less of our own" - it still doesnt win a war.

    --
    Bush and Blair ate my sig!
  97. Any reason to upgrade yet? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My organization has about 80 Windows 2000 Professional desktops and no plans on upgrading yet. We are very good about getting all the updates as soon as they come out, but still see no reason to switch. I am honestly not trolling here, but what incentives besides "MS won't fix any further bugs" do we have? Is there anything that you found being worth the switch? We have roaming profiles and, up till now, very homogenious installs. The other side of the coin is how well XP behaves in Samba3 NT4-like domain. If it's any flakier than 2K, forget about it.

  98. They are separate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    At least in the AIA (Air Intelligence Agency). There are huge separate, dedicated networks for each classification level.

    I hope that isn't enough to get me killed or tossed in jail for life.

  99. "Communism will rule da planed!I am knowing thad!" by TransEurope · · Score: 1

    "But hopefully no one will cut the phone-
    cable, which we use to connect us phreaka-like
    to da infiltraded south-imperialistic
    satellite-uplink-station. And from dere to da
    communikation bagbone of da world.
    This would destroy all our dreams of aoa world dominadion...
    Stalin is a cool!"

  100. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not only is your geography wrong, but also the politics. KJI is not an "insane fascist dictator", he's an "insane Communist dictator". In fact, he ain't even Communist, he just claims to be.

  101. North Korea big scary monster... by MosesJones · · Score: 4, Insightful


    North Korea is known to be actively trying to achieve nuclear weapons.

    North Korea is known to have killed thousands, if not millions of its own people thanks to its goverment (predominately famine).

    North Korea is run by a complete and utter barking mad nutter.

    So nuclear weapons... that puts them up with first world nations from the... 1940s and 50s. They have a rocket that can't even make it to Japan and their leader is much more interested in self-publicity and oppressing his population than almost anything else.

    Having 500 "hackers" trying to compromise networks in the west... well they've been SPECTACULARLY successfull haven't they with all the networks they've caused to fail over the last few years.

    North Korea is a Bad Country(tm) but lets not believe what South Korea says. We know that North Korea has no RADAR worth talking of as the US have deployed stealth fighters, which means the radar must be 20+ years out of date.

    Backward country, backward leader, backward tech. They could build a huge amount (see South Korea) if they just stopped killing their own people, fortunately for all of us (and unfortunately for N Koreans) their leader appears to quite like doing the killing and posturing, more than actually delivering.

    --
    An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
  102. When you have a gun to your head by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You just see how motivated you would be to hack into that network.

    I mean, look at how successful Electronic Arts is...

  103. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I live in South Dakota. It's shocking how many dumb motherfuckers ask me, "It must be pretty warm there, huh?" And I'm like, "Dude, it's fucking cold. We're like 2,500 miles from any ocean, racked by horrid heat in the summer and heinous cold in the winter." It's not some tropical destination.

    They get this puzzled look and ask, "Well, isn't it in the south?" I say, yeah, it's south. South of North Dakota.

    There's some seriously stupid people in this country that don't have a fucking clue about geography. And what i don't get is how that shit is taught in elementary school. These fuckers flunked out of elementary school?

  104. my neighbor's kid... by cenonce · · Score: 1

    Yeah, but are they as good as my neigbor's 12 year old?

    1. Re:my neighbor's kid... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ill kick that 12 year olds ass

  105. Um by Momoru · · Score: 1

    Dont they need electricity first? Last time i checked a night lights satellite of the world N Korea was one of the few dark spots.

    1. Re:Um by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, just because general population do not get electricity that must mean that military do not get it either!!!! lollololo!!1!1!!!!11
      Dumbfuck!

  106. Clarification by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think we've all got a twisted view of the NSA. Certainly, they do monitor and react to hackers, crackers, etc. However, I think you'll find that the NSA is just another bloated intelligence group not really specializing in anything - even though their mandate may say so.

    The CIA does have hackers. They're a SECRET organization; why would they go ahead and tell you they have them?

    North Korea probably does have more bandwidth than you most give them credit. I mean Kim Jong-il has to download his porn from somewhere!

  107. Whoa, North Koreans have Internet Access? lol by v3xt0r · · Score: 0

    I didn't think they would even have computers, much less internet access.

    --
    the only permanence in existence, is the impermanence of existence.
  108. Re:War in Iraq by revscat · · Score: 0, Troll

    What a ringing endorsement for your link, Air America Radio.

    Oh shit, I'm a bad advertiser. I weep, I moan, I bitch incessantly, I don't care what I say or do as long as I can maintain my image. Gee, I guess not, because that'd make me a conservative.

    Can't express yourself without calling someone else a "stupid fuck"? How typical.

    Typical? Yes, I'm typical. Typically pissed off at the apologetics and lies. Typically infuriated that people are too goddamn stupid to realize that they're being fucking lied to. Or, worse, they KNOW they're being lied to, but perpetuate the lies because hey, it's just how the world works, you know? It's all about image for conservatives. "Look at how bad you make your image look! How typical!" Yeah? FUCK image. Fuck George Bush, fuck the Republicans, and fuck YOU if you pretend they're anything other than shit sucking theocrats that they are.

  109. Re:War in Iraq by shywolf9982 · · Score: 1

    And Iraq had more hacking capabilities than North Korea anyway. At least they dropped off the good guy list only in the 90es (meaning, they had access to all the technologies dveloped in the meantime. Plus, they had oil, so I think Putin sold his mother to them too, before the war).
    Anyway, what's the problem with North Korea is that they're fucking aliens. I mean, in Iraq, nobody loved Saddam, and nobody wants him back. But in NK, they got their brains washed for ages. They'll bomb us the next day with nukes, if they actually HAVE some. I seriously doubt they have. Along with hacking capabilities.
    Now, we might invade them tomorrow, with maybe 10 losses from our side and give them democracy and such shit. But then, they'll probably start making cars instead of nukes and kill our economy even more.
    Long life to Kim Jong-Il!

    --
    nbody2002:If you can read this you may be addicted to the internet
  110. Character exchange by pollensoft · · Score: 1

    If pwned = owned, does DPRK = DORK?

    --
    -- jay proulx pollensoft
  111. Political smoke by Felinoid · · Score: 1

    This clame sounds like a farce. Political smoke.
    Hackers are advanced techno spys. Announcing you have them really screws up how effective they are.
    If they were as effective as the CIA counterparts they aren't anymore. Sure everyone knows the CIA has hackers but as a rule nobody thinks about them. You make your hackers know everyone is on guard against you.

    As for how good they are, If they exist there is no way to know if they are any good at all.
    They could be the authors of all the spam zombie viruses. They may have created the root kits. Or there hacking may be limited to TV ads saying you should share your passwords with the state.

    --
    I don't actually exist.
  112. Re:War in Iraq by Andy+Gardner · · Score: 1
    The Vietcong seemed to do ok without any power stations or fuel. An AK-47 and a bowl of rice every now and then was sufficient to defeat a technologically superior US force. What good are EMP attacks going to be against AK-47's, mortars and RPG's. Even a small resistance force with a modocum of organisation can be effective. Look at the recent conflict in Iraq, the US has struggled to control a population of 26m confined to a space twice the size of Idaho.

    Look at the numbers of US military casualties in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan versus the casualties of the other side, that will explain what "surgical strikes" can do.

    No, that would explain what a policy of carpet bombing can do. Really less of a surgical strike and more a brute force style attack.
    Past the stage of 'lets dig trenches and shoot at each other for months on end'? Refresh my memory how long has the US been 'policing' Iraq now?

  113. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And why those countries need to get the nuclear weapons? Could it be because you idiots keep attacking countries which you declare rogue nations and which do not have any nuclear weapons? No, it could not be that, since USA is a beacon of democracy and source of all the good in the world.

    We are not and will not want to be Americans, there is no little American living inside each of us wanting to be liberated.
    Could you just leave us alone, please?

    For the waiting part I agree strongly, but some day USA government might want to increase its influence in the East-Asia. And that will be the day we are fucked, once again.

    ps. I thought the reason to get rid of Saddam Hussein was the weapons of mass destruction he had, or was it because Saddam Hussein and Iraq was involved in the terrorist attack against USA, or was it because you wanted to liberate Iraqi people and bring democracy to them. Make up your mind already!

  114. US CIA or South Korean by subtropolis · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Aside from the fact that that's a mostly meaningless statement, perhaps he was referring to the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA).

    --
    "Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
    1. Re:US CIA or South Korean by jd · · Score: 1
      It is ingeniously meaningless and could just as easily refer to a paintball match (a-la Vi vs. Emacs, reported on by Slashdot some time back). "Psychological Operations" and "Disinformation" are also widely practiced by all sides, so there is no telling what the truth of the matter is, even assuming there to be any truth, or indeed any matter*.


      *Since the CIA is not really a hacking organization, any group that is equal to something that doesn't exist is, by definition, non-existant. So if North Korean hackers are the CIA's hacker's equals, and the CIA doesn't have any hackers, then neither can North Korea.


      In mathematical terms, what we have here is A >= B, where B can have any value or be NULL, and where any value B does have can be of any type or be of any form, and where there is no basis for assuming A to have the same type or form as B. From that, we can deduce precisely nothing about A.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
    2. Re:US CIA or South Korean by tisme · · Score: 1

      Except they are not saying 'equal' they are saying 'better'. It is possible to be better than nothing, in fact if there is something with a particular trait, the default is that it is better than nothing.

    3. Re:US CIA or South Korean by tisme · · Score: 1

      hehe I was just bugging you! :P

    4. Re:US CIA or South Korean by jd · · Score: 1

      Nothing is better than perfection! :)

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  115. Uh... just in case you're curious./.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...the only reason that North Korea hasn't

    1) had the living shit stomped out of it

    and/or

    2) hasn't under gone a "Berlin Wall" type of "reunification"

    is because:

    1) North Korea is really South China

    and

    2) The DMZ is so heavily mined that any dumb-fsck peacenick that tries to "reunify" anything is in for an ugly surprise.

    We're talking trade imbalances here, not hackers and nuclear weapons.

  116. How to hack like a Korean hacker by Felinoid · · Score: 1

    First hire a bunch of hot babes to work for you.
    Now use those hot babes to make geeks post randomly on Slashdot.

    Now your hacking as good as the hackers in the CIA.

    --
    I don't actually exist.
  117. JFCC-NW by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Joint Force Component Command for Network Warfare
    http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/18/142 5230&tid=172&tid=103
    Get it right kids, it was on slashdot April 18th.

  118. They are not tooting their own horn by shaitand · · Score: 1

    This is a SOUTH korean paper about NORTH korean hackers. This is not one nation calling their own hackers l33t as numerous posts above have suggested.

  119. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Umm.. I welcome our chinese overlords who will
    attack in human waves into the face of tactical
    nuke strikes surgically placed against penetrations
    into defense zones..hell you pull personnel back
    15 miles and scrape your line in the sand.

  120. Implat? by kopper187 · · Score: 1

    Given how absurd some of his information is and given how much NK like to exaggerate and fabricate when self promoting, could this SK guy be working with NK? Did he just blow his cover?

    What better reason to make such a dumbfounded statement that over-glorifies NK. This guy was paid to do it. Or at least his information source was.

  121. North Korea vs. South Korea by dustmite · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Night vs. Day.

    South Korea is the most "connected" nation in the world, with some 80% of households having broadband, and the average broadband connection being 4 MBits/s.

    North Korea, well, can hardly feed themselves.

    Take a look at North Korea vs South Korea in this NASA "Earth at night" image; it's really telling. South Korea is amongst brightest countries in the world, while North Korea is just this sudden dark, dark "void" sitting conspicuously between South Korea and China.

  122. Re:War in Iraq by fermion · · Score: 1
    We don't go after N Korea because the N Koreans are in fact credible enemies. Unlike Iraq that had nothing that we did give them during the Iran-Iraq war, N Korea probably has stuff.

    It is interested how the argument changes. At first Bush said we had to get Saddam out because he had WMD. Now that we know that the CIA and the Republicans once agina lied, as they did during Nixon and Reagan, the story is that he was going to get them.

    N Korea has been taunting the US during most of the Bush II presidency. And while we seem to have no problem going in and killing old men and children, and torturing civilians, and peeing on the Koran, the truth is we have no stomach for a real battle. I mean one helicopter shot down has kept us out of anarchist country for years.

    And it would be a good idea to stay out of trouble for a few years. Given our violations of international law over the past few years, it would be extremely dangerous for us to get into a real war. Now that the world knows we will torture, and we will leave wounded enemy soldiers ont he ground, and we will shoot defenseless wounded soldiers, our soldiers are going to be in more danger than in a very long while. The enemy is going it going to know the choices are kill, be killed, or be tortured. There is no hope anymore of sitting out the war in cozy American prison camp.

    --
    "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
  123. Maybe it's just me ... by ToasterofDOOM · · Score: 1

    But I call BS. Probably nothing more than FUD, paranoia, and hot air

    --
    I am Spartacus
  124. Hackers? Not the CIA but US STRATCOM (DoD) by EQ · · Score: 2, Informative

    The CIA? That blows any sort of credibility in the report. The CIA doesnt run "hakcers", the Department of Defense does, HQ'd on an Airforce base. It was publicised back in April in this article on Wired.com Yes there is a trehat to the free world's information infrastructure. And it is a danger. But the main article far overstates it. The referenced original article is propaganda, pure and simple. Someone must want some budget money, so they scare up a foe to be bigger than it is.

    --
    Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo! http://goo.gl/J9bkO
  125. thats not funny, respective MODERATOR is an idiot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    nuf said

  126. Re:War in Iraq by shawn443 · · Score: 1

    Of the many ridiculous and unsuported comments you made I will address this one.

    The marines who were going street to street in Fallujah will probably take exception to the "no stomach for real battle" comment. We aren't playing patty-cake over there.

  127. Re:War in Iraq by drgonzo59 · · Score: 1
    Please refer to the initial message's context.

    The message was talking about a country invading us. Now of, course if we want to invade a country we'll have to do with insurgency like we had to do in Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan, but if Europe or China wanted to launch an attack on us, even though they have all the men, they will not be able to do it with just bowls of rice and AK-47, they need communication and support infrastructure, which, if disabled would disable and disarm the offensive rather quickly.

    Fighting guerillas is another story, I was talking about WWIII type of conflict.

  128. Re:War in Iraq by drgonzo59 · · Score: 1
    Please refer to the initial message's context.

    The message was talking about a country invading us. Now of, course if we want to invade a country we'll have to do with insurgency like we had to do in Vietnam and Iraq and Afghanistan, but if Europe or China wanted to launch an attack on us, even though they have all the men, they will not be able to do it.

    Fighting guerillas is another story, I was talking about WWIII, and how it would differ significantly from WWI and WWII.

  129. CIA? by king-manic · · Score: 1

    He claims the DPRK hackers to be 'equal to that of the CIA,' whatever that might mean."



    I take that to mean their sloppy script kiddies with government funding. They get caught frequently, only successful in the most rudementry of attempts, and are hired because their budy was the step son of the director.

    If he had said the NSA I'd be impressed.

    --
    "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
  130. [OT] Re:This just in, North Korea has an army too! by Lord+Omlette · · Score: 1

    Those who love their country know that there's no such thing as "good enough".

    Those who hate everything good about America tend to rant on and on about liberals.

    --
    [o]_O
  131. Manpower Vs technology by phorm · · Score: 1

    You should consider that in warfare (electronic or physical) one of the major breakers isn't manpower but technology. A country with an armed force of a a million soldiers carrying rifles isn't going to do much against several thousand fighter-jets, laser-guided bombs, battleships, and tanks.

    The internet is a bit of a different battleground though, your tech doesn't have to be good so long as you can 0WNZ3R somebody else's tech... and trust me there are lots of powerful botnets etc there out on the market...

  132. Re:Sure, but let me diss DISA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Judging by the handholding I've done for the folks at DISA, who don't even know how to go to a website or read a screen ("I want to request access. The button says 'Request Access'. Should I click that?"), plus a recent report that showed DISA PCs disproportionately highly infected with spyware, I seriously believe DISA is mis-named.

  133. Re:War in Iraq by GISGEOLOGYGEEK · · Score: 1

    Yes, we know how well Diplomacy and Isolation work. It was working perfectly well on Iraq for over 10 years. Saddam was no threat at all to the world until you fools elected Bush. Thanks to Bush, you have no right at all to claim diplomacy and isolation is the answer to anything.

    Bush had only one simple intention: To destabilize world oil markets through his lies and false fears in order to increase the price of oil so he and his oil buddies could make more profit.

    The results of the war:

    No evidence whatsoever of any WMD's. No evidence whatsoever that any WMD's were removed from Iraq to other countries. Your preventative war was an absolute bust and a waste of lives.

    Your own president has publicaly stated that there was no evidence at all that Iraq had anything to do with 911 or Al Qaeda.

    But you did manage to murder hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, 1600+ US citizens so far, and make millions more around the world hate you.

    The only scraps of technology found in Iraq related in any way to WMD's were the blown up remains of what the first gulf war destroyed.

    Meanwhile, Bush is best friends with a proven terrorist with Billions to spend on any weapon he wants (Khadaffi), and best friends with a nuclear military dictatorship (pakistan). Woo! Khadaffi has renounced terrorism! I guess that absolves him of the responsibility for the hundreds he murdered blowing up airliners.

    And lets not forget that the chemical weapons Saddam used on his own people were given to him by the USA during the Reagan administration. That's another 100,000+ deaths to blame on the USA.

    The only 'preventative' war that would truly make the world a better place would be to blast every american politician to hell.

    I don't blame Iran one bit for going ahead with nuclear research, its the only way to keep the USA out.

    --
    George Bush + Linux = "I will not let information get in the way of the fight against Windows"
  134. Re:War in Iraq by GISGEOLOGYGEEK · · Score: 1

    "the Iraq war ended halfway through 2003"

    Over 700 civillians died in the LAST MONTH in Iraq due to suicide bombings. I'll bet my last dollar that as bad as Hussein was, the citizens of Iraq were better off before the war then they are now.

    Most of the US casualties have happened since "mission Accomplished".

    Ya sure, the war's over all right.

    --
    George Bush + Linux = "I will not let information get in the way of the fight against Windows"
  135. Old News by Supurcell · · Score: 1

    Westwood has known this for years.

  136. Seems that.. by EiZei · · Score: 1

    somebody is in need of extra funding. Just bring out the terrorists and the koreans (the EVIL commie ones).

  137. Re:War in Iraq by GISGEOLOGYGEEK · · Score: 1

    There may in fact be a small bit of hope for the USA afterall.

    I hope there are millions more like you.

    --
    George Bush + Linux = "I will not let information get in the way of the fight against Windows"
  138. Re:Dupe(?) + My thoughts.... (terorist states lst) by iamcf13 · · Score: 1

    North Korea is a recognized terrorist state

    Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism

    This page is over 4 years old but still seems to be official as it is still 'up' at the time of this post.

    Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, and Syria are also on this list for various reasons. Read the page for more information if you want to.

    P.S. Want to export crypto outside USA/Canada and are in the USA? Read this first!

    Crypto is (ultimately?) math.

    Why treat a reversible mathematical transformation as a 'dangerous weapon' just because it can be used to hide secrets?

    The 'terrorists' are using strong crypto in defiance of any countries rules on the subject. Why hamstring e-commerce and computer programmers world wide because of it?

    Well, as a last resort, there is always Chaffing and Winnowing: Confidentiality without Encryption Let's see governments worldwide outlaw that!

  139. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The largest reason for invading Iraq was to open up new markets, to convert Iraq into a environment that is more friendly towards US (and other) corporations who has invested in political campaigns (donations) and other lobbying work.
    Mainly for exploiting natural resources obviously, but now corporations wich specializes in private warfare, the so called "Security Contractors" are thriving, since the US and it's allies hasn't been able to suppress the resistance.

    It's also very convenient to "outsource" some military tasks and let the private sector take over, especially since the mercenaries aren't included in the official death polls over fallen US soldiers, so their deaths doesn't affect the attitude towards the war in Iraq that much (if at all).

    People like to blame the shadow instead of the substance, and direct all their anger towards Bush and the US goverment, while corporate interests are, and has always been, the major driving force behind most US conflicts since WW2.
    The corporations are the substance, the goverment is just the shadow.

    The people of Iraq won't be able to enjoy freedom for a very long while.
    As long as there are US forces (and Security Contractors) in Iraq, there will be resistance and violence, and as long as there is resistance and violence, there will be US forces (and Security Contractors) there to benefit from it (The US forces might not exactly benefit from it directly, but the military industrial complex will).

    An endless loop of madness.

  140. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm just glad there isn't anyone far off the deep-end such as yourself ruling a country. Oh wait, there is one in N. Korea. The perfect totalitarian regime to carry out a Communist agenda. They actually want to use nukes on the US more than YOU do.

  141. why CIA or NSA should hack? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They, sort of, just have to type something like:

    212.34.124.34:backdoor-sezam

    and have the full access to c:\ on any PC

  142. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    none of the comments are unsupported. Bush has admitted that the WMD are non existant. We are, to some extent, torturing. Urine did touch the Koran, and one wonders why the Koran was near where anyone was peeing. The Nixon administration did organize a criminal act, and a conspiracy to cover up the act. To this day they have not admitted the act, or asks for forgiveness, recently called the brave mam who informed the American peopel of the criminal president a traitor. The reagan administration was drug and woepen runners. All of this is well documented in the left and right press.

    As far as Fallujah, that was the creation of the international law violations. You can be sure the every fighter in Fallujah was informed what the Amercians were doing in the camps, and how they were treating the prisoners. Like the Russians coming into Germany, and the Germans knowing that the russian were hell bent on revenge, the people of Fallujah knew thier options were limited.

    I know for a fact that most soldiers are honorable people who want to do what is right. The problem is that the leadrship is not setting a good example, and not exacting consequences on those who do wrong.

  143. the real reason to hack the US by xamomike · · Score: 1

    this whole topic is l33t. We all know that the real reason North Korea is trying to hack the US is because they want access to free pr0n.

    --
    There are 10 types of people in the world; those who can read binary, and those who can't.
  144. Re:War in Iraq by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As long as there are US forces (and Security Contractors) in Iraq, there will be resistance and violence, and as long as there is resistance and violence, there will be US forces (and Security Contractors) there to benefit from it (The US forces might not exactly benefit from it directly, but the military industrial complex will).

    The insurgency has been been targeting mostly non-US elements simply because it's easier to kill civilians and less retribution when doing so. It appears even after the US no longer occupies Iraq, the insurgents will continue on with their killings just out of principle because they're so against the current government. The US will be out of there when the Iraqi government is sufficiently able to handle the situation on their own. It's just that the constant is the resistance put up by the insurgents.

  145. any connection to korea MSN by tofucubes · · Score: 1

    don't know but was this the work of the north korean hackers? http://news.techwhack.com/1347/04060505-msn-korea- hacked-for-stealing-user-passwords/ by the way...notice the article says independent parties reported this perhaps there are other independent parties in the U.S. who are even more capable than the CIA. just a guess

    --
    Some people believe 1-1=3 and for the sake of being politically correct, we should respect their differences
  146. Re:War in Iraq by pingveno · · Score: 2, Informative

    Saddam hadn't exactly been making a lot of progress on the nukes. All of the evidence cited by President Bush was, quite simply, wrong. There was "evidence" about Saddam trying to get yellow cake (uranium ore) from Nigeria (at least I think it was Nigeria). Completely unfounded; only a small fraction of the experts gave that report any credit. Then there was the one about Saddam getting metal tubes suitable for uranium enrichment. It really was too bad that the tubes were absolutely, completely unsuitable for uranium enrichment. The walls were too thick, the anti-weathering coating on the tubes would make some obvious problems for uranium enrichment. Of course, George Tenet conveniently forgot to tell Bush that all but one CIA expert on the matter thought the idea was total BS. So no, nukes weren't a reason. It was just the hawks rationalize.

    --
    "it's not about aptitude, it's the way you're viewed" - Galinda
  147. 2 million people died by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    1.5+ million people died due to U.N. sanctions on Iraq, lobbied by U.S. Around 200,000 dead due to war. Untold numbers to due to DU-exposure.

    http://interterror.org/

    Think on this.

    At the least N.K. has sticked to fscking their OWN country, instead of others'.

    1. Re:2 million people died by Dread_ed · · Score: 1

      You may never read this being and AC, but if you do, remember that you have not made a point in your own favor here.

      Here is why, you say 1.5+ million people died due to the sanctions. Fine, that is ok with me. However, the government of Iraq was actively circumventing the sanctions, trading oil for currency under the table. Ok, so the fine and upstanding government of Iraq uses this money to buy food and infrastructure improvements for the people that they love so much, right? Well no, I guess they didn't. In fact, they loved their people so much that they spent all that money on weapons and lining the pockets of the ruling family.

      All you have done is point out EXACTLY what I am pointing out. Unfortunately you are like so many people that I see that think that each country lives in a bubble, isolated in all of its decisions, not affecting others outside its borders, never deserving of intervention regardless of the actions of its rulers.

      Think on this, you observe a man in his home, his children are starving, he beats his wife, his home is falling apart, the lights are turned off, there is no running water and he is buying lots of guns and bombs instead of feeding his children. This is a microcosm of Iraq. They were falling apart internally and the majority of their funds were spent keeping their people in line and arming themselves for international wars, all the while comitting the most heinous human rights violations imaginable on their own populace.

      And the US is unscrupulous for intervening? Where were you when these thing were going on in Iraq? Why speak up against it now that it is changing, even getting better for many of the people in that area of the world?

      --
      When the only tool you have is a claw hammer every problem starts to look like the back of someone's skull.
  148. Preventative war... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    no, the preventative war worked really well. Now it must be said I have no idea why nearly 2000 American troops were prepared to die to protect the nascent Islamonuclear state of Iran from Saddam but they are sitting pretty as a result anyway.

  149. Re:War in Iraq by Andy+Gardner · · Score: 1
    I think you have confused yourself in replying to my post. I did not reply to the original post, rather yours, and if your re-read my post you will find that I was not considering a chino-european force to be the agressor but rather the US to be an aggressor against a theoretical force.

    As such I reiterate my earlier statement that a technologicaly superior force would succumb to a numerically superior and motivated force equiped with reliable weaponry. Again I refer to recent history to reinforce my point. The vietnam war and the Iraqi conflict. In the first instances the US was the agressor with a technologically superior army but succumbed to a motivated force with basic but reliable weaponry. In the second instance the technologically superior force has struggled to occupy and 'police' a nation with inferior weaponry.

    It may have passed you by, but nevertheless my point was that any future global conflict would still involve a substantial ammount of 'trenchline' fighting. And in such a situation, as proved historically, the technologicaly superior force would not necessarily be the victor.

  150. SO??? by tezbobobo · · Score: 1
    The last time I checked, wars weren't won with large armies. The reason countries like America become super powers are there technological advantage. Taiwan has only recently gone into a defensive stance, even though China had an army over 1 mil. It was due to there technical superiority. Australia (20 mil popn) sits below Indonesia (280 mil popn) and has an army of 30 000. It is the power in south east Asia (with Japan, depending how you measure it). Again, not by nukbers but by the supeority of the technology.

    I agree with you whole heartedly. When the nukes are flying we'll see which is easier, having a large army with missile defence capability, a disparate population, and liquid movemnent - or companies making backup.

    I cant help but think, we've seen what the world did in response to S11. Lets see what they do to a national threat.

  151. I call BS by alexo · · Score: 1


    > North Korea 'employs 500-600 hackers who are tasked with hacking into
    > computer networks and disabling enemy command and communication systems.'


    I served as an officer in an IT unit in the IDF.
    All the computers that were connected to the Internet or to any other outside networks, were dedicated to the task and disconnected from the military networks.

    North Korea, or any other organization of "hackers" for that matter, are going to have a hard time "hacking into computer networks" they don't have physical access to.

  152. Don't believe the recycled 1992 threats by displague · · Score: 1

    Captain: What happen ?
    Mechanic: Somebody set up us the bomb.
    Operator: We get signal.
    Captain: What !
    Operator: Main screen turn on.
    Captain: It's you !!

    CATS: How are you gentlemen !!
    CATS: All your base are belong to us.
    CATS: You are on the way to destruction.

    Captain: What you say !!
    CATS: You have no chance to survive make your time.
    CATS: Ha Ha Ha Ha ....

    --
    Marques Johansson
  153. Re:War in Iraq by AvantLegion · · Score: 1

    That's the great thing about partisan politics - they allow stupid people like yourself to get by in life without having to do any thinking!

  154. Re:War in Iraq by revscat · · Score: 1

    Gee, your two criticisms have been "your image looks bad" and "you're stupid." Huh. How FASCINATING. And, well, typical.

    No thinking? Tell you what, chubby, why don't you think on this: Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have been an incredible propaganda tool for al Qaeda and have caused untold damage to our chances of success in Iraq and against terrorism in general. Or this: dominionist Christians are in positions of high power in the GOP, and are doing everything in their power to turn America into a theocracy. Or this: Newsweek was lambasted by the right wing anti-free speech brigade, but it was Newsweek that was utterly correct. Or this: Ditto Dan Rather. Or this: the Pentagon lies with regularity; supporting the military does not mean believing the lies the Pentagon tells. Or this: two wrongs don't make a right. Or this: you've been brainwashed by right-wing propagandists who would rather you hate than think critically.

    Don't fuck with me. I've shit bigger turds than you.

  155. Re:Dupe(?) + My thoughts.... (terorist states lst) by smugfunt · · Score: 1
    North Korea is a recognized terrorist state
    Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism
    Well, even if you accept "accused by the US State Department" as a reasonable definition of "recognized" this is still pretty weak.
    Apparently North Korea granted political asylum to some hijackers...in 1970, and they might have sold some weapons to a seperatist group that the Phillipino government regards as terrorists...or they might not have.
  156. Korean Hackers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am impressed with the comments of some posters here saying "I need Junk food and soda to hack" and impressed by Korean Hackers. I should not say a word about locations but dudes.. when a guy dont see up he thinks he's the highst point.

    Hackrslab.

  157. Re:Dupe(?) + My thoughts.... (terorist states lst) by sickofthisshit · · Score: 1

    According to http://cfrterrorism.org/sponsors/northkorea2.html

    # a 1983 bombing during a South Korean state visit to Burma that killed 17 South Koreans, including several cabinet members, and narrowly missed killing then South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan;

    # and a 1987 in-flight bombing of a Korean Air Lines passenger jet that killed all 115 people on board.

    Of course, you can't prove any of this beyond a shadow of a doubt.

  158. Re:War in Iraq by alan_dershowitz · · Score: 1

    The tubes were, however, the exact size specified in a particularly old (1950's), and unclassified set of documents on Uranium enrichment. They weren't totally unsuitable, just not very good. Weather coating can be removed.

    I'm not saying he was getting anywhere on his program, but one can definitely make the case that the tubes were bought for this purpose because a) they matched a document on Uranium enrichment that it is very likely Saddam's scientists would have sought, and b) dual-use materials are the best way to get supplies for weapons development if you're under scrutiny.

    I'm not disagreeing with your point, however.

  159. Re:War in Iraq by kikta · · Score: 1
    Don't fuck with me. I've shit bigger turds than you.

    And all of them seem to be coming out of your mouth...
  160. Re:War in Iraq by revscat · · Score: 1

    Boo-hoo, go whine to mommy. Your fake sanctimony fools absolutely no one.

  161. In Other News from Pyongyang... by whytechocolate · · Score: 1

    Kim Jong-Il is elected God, rides shooting star to Heaven. People among fittest in world. Rice production up 300%. DRPK doubleplusgood, America doubleplusungood. End of disinformation.