Attempts at cyberattacks targeting Korea's military reached 19,000 last year alone, the most in the past five years. Observers say securing cyber specialists in the military is urgent.
According to data submitted by Yu Yong-weon of the People Power Party, a member of the National Defense Committee, from the Ministry of National Defense on the 12th, there were 18,951 attempted cyberattacks targeting the military last year. That was a 31.4% surge from the previous year and the highest in five years since 2021.
Of the attempts that occurred last year, "website intrusion attempts" to obtain administrator privileges accounted for most cases, with 18,792.
The Cyber Operations Command, in materials submitted to Yu Yong-weon's office, said, "Given the nature of cyberattacks that use methods such as IP spoofing and routing through overseas bases, there are limits to identifying the actors targeting our military," but noted that North Korea's hacking capabilities are becoming more advanced.
Authorities believe North Korea has been waging cyberwarfare centered on the Reconnaissance General Bureau, an organization under the General Staff Department responsible for intelligence collection and operations against the South and overseas. Last year, North Korea expanded and reorganized the Reconnaissance General Bureau into the General Bureau of Reconnaissance Intelligence. At an expanded meeting of the party's Central Military Commission chaired by Kim Jong-un on the 9th, a policy was also presented to drastically enhance the capabilities of the General Bureau of Reconnaissance Intelligence.
By contrast, conditions for securing cyber specialists in Korea's military are deteriorating. The government runs a system under which students selected for certain university departments receive tuition support and are commissioned as cyber specialty officers (second lieutenants) upon graduation, with a mandatory seven-year service obligation.
However, many cyber specialty officers are leaving the military. According to Yu's office, of the 104 cyber specialty officers commissioned from 2016 to 2019, 89—85%—chose to leave the service after completing their mandatory service rather than continue on long-term duty.
Yu said, "Cyber is a highly specialized field that cannot train experts overnight, and accumulated experience and expertise over a long period are essential," adding, "The military must build a systematic personnel management system that covers everything from securing and training cyber specialists to retaining them for long-term service."