Sources Point Towards North Korea as the Perpetrator Behind WannaCry Attack

According to sources reported from Seoul, South Korea, software programmers accept employment opportunities in North Korea to engage in cyber-attacks when called upon.  When given direct orders from Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, the hackers “are believed to split into groups of three or six, moving around to avoid detection.”

It is said that North Korea has been training digital hackers since the 1980s to use technology to engage in cyber-attacks, spy on foreign affairs, and observe behaviors of opposition in order to gain an upper hand.  These “cyber agents” so to speak have made it extremely possible for attacks such as WannaCry to occur often, due to their fluidity in the cyber-world.  According to The New York Times, “the North Koreans have spread these agents across the border into China and other Asian countries to help cloak their identities.  The strategy also amounts to war-contingency planning in case the homeland is attacked.”

Sources show that North Korean “agents” or hackers have links to the WannaCry ransomware that affected over 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries; their intentions appear to be for “financial gain—which does not appear to be turning out so well—and proof that Pyongyang has the means to cause significant damage, with or without a nuclear weapon.”  On Sunday, May 14, North Korea successfully operated its ballistic missile system in which it was reportedly capable of carrying “a large size heavy nuclear warhead.”  It is evident that North Korea poses a serious threat to the world, shown through its swift and vast developments in recent times.

North Korea has always been notorious for its threatening rhetoric and malicious intentions, but never considered a major superpower capable of annihilation.  However, James A. Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington explains that, “North Korea was always a state criminal, sheltered behind sovereignty, and now they’ve moved into this cyberspace.”

It is still relatively early to accuse North Korea of this crime though, for there is still little evidence that points to them.  The New York Times notes, “Unlike its missile and nuclear weapons tests, however, North Korea has never announced or acknowledged its hacking abilities.”  North Korea has been known to vocalize its actions and great feats, taking credit for large occurrences in order to threaten and intimidate other world superpowers.  The fact that it hasn’t taken credit for WannaCry may suggest that North Korea is not behind this attack after all.

Regardless, the United States, as well as many other countries, continue to work to uncover the group and country affiliated with this attack.  It is only a matter of time before justice is instilled.