Alert: Muslim hackers planning "computer attacks"
Police have warned firms across the country: "You are targeted because of our participation in the Iraq war, so be on the lookout for attacks aiming to destroy the national economy."
Seoul (AsiaNews) Korean firms "run the serious risk of being attacked by Muslim extremist hackers who want to destroy their internal systems to punish Korean participation in the war in Iraq."
This was revealed by the National Police Agency on 19 March. It said: "This type of attack is becoming ever more insidious and aims to crush the national economy." A police official added: "The problem is more serious because South Korea is one of the few nations that never considered pulling out its soldiers. Islamic extremists know they cannot pin their hopes on any political opposition."
Microsoft Korea chief security officer Cho Won-young said: "Big corporations are aware of the danger and well prepared. But small-sized ones are not, and this is the main problem, because they are often fundamental links in large computer chains."
At Washington's behest, Seoul sent 3,600 men to Iraq in August 2004, the third largest contingent after the United States and Great Britain. The government is considering reducing the number of troops, who are mostly engaged in health and reconstruction projects, to 2,000, but it is not thinking about pulling out its contingent altogether.
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