Hackers steal South Korean-US military secrets

SEOUL (AP) – South Korea's military said Friday it was investigating a hacking attack that netted secret defense plans with the United States and may have been carried out by North Korea.

The suspected hacking occurred late last month when a South Korean officer failed to remove a USB device when he switched a military computer from a restricted-access intranet to the Internet, Defense Ministry spokesman Won Tae-jae said.

The USB device contained a summary of plans for military operations by South Korean and US troops in case of war on the Korean peninsula. Won said the stolen documents were not a full text of the operational plans, but about an 11-page document used to brief military officials.

Won said authorities have not ruled out the possibility that Pyongyang may have been involved in the hacking attack by using a Chinese IP address — the Web equivalent of a street address or phone number.

The Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported, citing the January edition of its sister magazine Monthly Chosun, that hackers used a Chinese IP address and that North Korea is suspected of involvement. The Monthly Chosun cited South Korea's National Intelligence Service and Defense Security Command.

Yonhap news agency also reported the hackers used a Chinese IP address. It said the North's involvement was not immediately confirmed, also citing military officials it did not identify.

Officials at the NIS — South Korea's main spy agency — were not immediately available for comment.

The US stations 28,500 troops in South Korea to deter any potential North Korean aggression. The two Koreas have remained technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

"As a matter of policy, we do not comment on operational planning or intelligence matters, nor would we confirm details pertaining to any security investigation,"

said David Oten, a spokesman for the US military in Seoul.

The latest case came months after hackers launched high-profile cyberattacks that caused Web outages on prominent government-run sites in the US and South Korea. Affected sites include those of the White House and the South's presidential Blue House.

The IP address that triggered the Web attacks in July was traced back to North Korea's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, the chief of South Korean's main spy agency reportedly told lawmakers, noting the ministry leased the IP address from China. The spy agency declined to confirm those reports at the time.

South Korean media reported at the time that North Korea runs an Internet warfare unit that tries to hack into US and South Korean military networks to gather confidential information and disrupt service, and the regime has between 500 and 1,000 hacking specialists.

North Korea, one of the world's most secretive countries, is believed to have a keen interest in information technology, while tightly controlling access for ordinary citizens.

source:http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=533740&publicationSubCategoryId=200

Father of RP Internet to receive lifetime achievement award

MANILA, Philippines -- Dr. William “Bill” Torres, dubbed “Father of Philippine Internet,” will be honored by the country's technology journalists with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his meritorious contributions to the local IT industry on Dec. 17 in Taguig City.

Torres, the first Filipino to acquire a PhD degree in computer science in the United States while on a Fulbright-Hays Grant at the University of Wisconsin, has generously and willingly devoted his time and knowledge to the development of country’s IT sector in the last few decades.

The defining point of career in IT came in 1992 when he spearheaded the negotiations to connect the Philippines to the Internet. This pioneering effort opened tremendous opportunities for Filipinos, particularly in the area of business process outsourcing.

As co-founder and former chief executive of Mosaic Communications (Mozcom), the country’s first commercial ISP (Internet service provider), Torres has introduced and pushed for cutting-edge innovations in the field of information and communications technologies that have greatly benefitted the Philippines.

He has also served as director-general of the National Computer Center during the Aquino administration and has actively participated, mostly as head, in various industry associations.

Torres will receive the award at the 2nd CyberPress ICT Choice Awards, an initiative of the IT Journalists Association of the Philippines Inc. (CyberPress) that is meant to honor the persons and entities that made their mark in the local ICT market for 2009.

The awards ceremony will recognize this year’s achievers in five categories: IT Start-Up of the Year, IT Company of the Year, IT Executive of the Year, IT Product of the Year, and IT Story of the Year.

The list of nominees were drawn up during the recent CyberPress leadership seminar held in Baras, Rizal. CyberPress members, who write for the country’s top newspapers and IT publications, then voted for their choices via an online poll.

The CyberPress ICT Choice Awards follows the lead of other press groups which have been bestowing awards over the years in their respective sectors.

source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=531847&publicationSubCategoryId=200