Tag: north-korean

WannaCry ransomware causes Honda plant to shut down

WannaCry isn’t done yet. Honda Motor Co. had to shut down its Sayama plant on Monday after finding the ransomware in its computer network. The plant’s production resumed on Tuesday. The WannaCry ransomware got everyone’s attention in May when UK NHS hospitals fell victim to it. It then quickly spread around the world, affecting over 150 countries and hitting companies like French car manufacturer Renault and FedEx. WannaCry was made possible by a Windows vulnerability uncovered by the NSA and subsequently stolen and released by a hacking group called The Shadow Brokers. WannaCry, which US agencies suspect a North Korean group was behind, took advantage of that vulnerability in computers that hadn’t been updated with Microsoft’s patch or had versions of Windows that were too old to use it. Honda’s Sayama plant, located outside of Tokyo, manufactures the Accord, Odyssey and Step Wagon models and produces around 1, 000 vehicles each day. Production at other plants wasn’t affected. Via: Road Show Source: Reuters

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WannaCry ransomware causes Honda plant to shut down

US hopes cyberattacks will stall North Korea’s missile program

The US might not have had much success with cyberattacks against North Korea’s nuclear program , but that apparently hasn’t stopped officials from further efforts… not that they’re having much success. The New York Times has learned that then-President Obama ordered escalated cyberwarfare against North Korea in 2014 a bid to thwart its plans for intercontinental ballistic missiles. However, it’s not clear that this strategy has worked — and there may be problems if it does. The newspaper understands that Obama pushed both intelligence agencies and the military to “pull out all the stops” on cyberwarfare efforts to wreck missiles either before they launch or in the first seconds afterward. While evidence shows that North Korean missiles started floundering at a very high rate (the mid-range Musudan missile has an 88 percent failure rate) soon after, it’s not certain how much of that was due to American efforts versus the inherent riskiness of the missile designs. The US effort “accented the failures, ” according to the Times , but the launch rate has improved lately — and proper intercontinental missile tests might not be far off, if you believe North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. A large part of this comes from the natures of both the country and its missile efforts. North Korea is notoriously isolated from the internet (not to mention computing technology as a whole), and its missile systems are both mobile and shuffled around to confuse enemies. It’s not so simple as slipping malware into the computers at a fixed location, like with the Stuxnet attack against Iran — you need to find out where and when a launch will take place. President Trump hasn’t signaled if or how his administration might change this approach. Everything is still on the table, according to the Times . However, it might not want to press much harder. If a digital campaign is successful, it might give China, Russia and other nuclear-armed nations tacit permission to attack American nuclear launch systems. A belligerent country might be more tempted to launch a nuke if it knows that the US can’t respond in kind. Source: New York Times

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US hopes cyberattacks will stall North Korea’s missile program

North Korea’s ‘Manbang’ is a state-approved streaming service

You can’t watch Netflix in North Korea , but the Democratic People’s Republic now has something , at least: Manbang — a state-approved set-top box that streams live TV, on-demand video content and newspaper articles over the internet. It’s a step forward for digital media delivery for North Korea , but it’s still fairly limited. Manbang, which ironically translates to “everywhere, ” is only available to citizens in Pyongynag, Siniju and Sariwon. The service’s limited availability is hardly a surprise. North Korea isn’t exactly known for having widespread internet access — and what it does have is fairly limited. That seems to be the case here, too: the service’s on-demand content seems to focus on Juche ideology and documentaries about North Korean leaders (we’re guessing The Interview won’t arrive on this service anytime soon). Viewers will also be able to call up educational programs designed to learn English and Russian. Naturally, the device isn’t being marketed so much as a propaganda delivery system as a convenience — North Korea’s KCTV describes Manbang as a respite from the “radio interference” that makes television broadcasts unwatchable in border cities. That sounds all well and good for citizens who want to watch what the state wants them to watch. As for everybody else? Well, there are options . Source: NK News

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North Korea’s ‘Manbang’ is a state-approved streaming service