North Korea threatens US as row deepens

[Cebu_4_2]

AH yeah sure...

Sony hack: North Korea threatens US as row deepens

South Korean media are closely watching developments in the cyber-attack row
Continue reading the main story (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30573040#story_continues_1) Related Stories


North Korea has threatened unspecified attacks on the US in an escalation of a war of words following the Sony Pictures cyber-attacks.
In a fiery statement, the North warned of strikes against the White House, Pentagon and "the whole US mainland".
North Korea denies US claims it is behind cyber-attacks linked to a film that features the fictional killing of its leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korea has a long history of issuing threats against the US.

The latest statement comes days after the US formally accused the North of orchestrating a massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures.
"The army and people of the DPRK [North Korea] are fully ready to stand in confrontation with the US in all war spaces including cyber warfare space," a long statement (http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm) carried by the official Korean Central News Agency said.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79884000/jpg/_79884198_025183273.jpg North Korea is highly sensitive to any perceived disrespect for its leader Kim Jong-un, centre

"Our toughest counteraction will be boldly taken against the White House, the Pentagon and the whole US mainland, the cesspool of terrorism, by far surpassing the 'symmetric counteraction' declared by Obama."

It accused President Obama of "recklessly making the rumour" that North Korea was behind the Sony attack.
It also said it "estimates highly the righteous action" taken by the hackers of Sony, although it is "not aware of where they are".

The statement has weight because it comes from the most powerful body in North Korea, the National Defence Commission, which is chaired by Kim Jong-un.

It has two arguments - essentially "we didn't do it" and "whoever did do it was right".
The statement goes into some detail about the FBI argument that there were signs in the computer code that North Korea was behind the Sony attack. it said such lines of code are commonplace and do not prove any North Korean involvement.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/75306000/jpg/_75306515_line976.jpg
Sony details leaked The hack resulted in unreleased films and the script for the next James Bond film being leaked online.
Details of corporate finances and private emails between producers and Hollywood figures were also released.

Sensitive emails and personal details about stars were revealed after the attack on Sony
The eventual fallout from the attack saw Sony cancel the Christmas release of a comedy called The Interview, a film depicting the assassination of the North Korean leader.

That decision followed threats made by a group that hacked into Sony's servers and leaked sensitive information and emails.
The North has denied being behind the attacks, and offered to hold a joint inquiry with the US.
But the US turned down the offer, and President Barack Obama said it was considering putting North Korea back on its list of terrorism sponsors, a move that further angered Pyongyang.

North Korea had been on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism for two decades until the White House removed it in 2008, as part of now-stalled negotiations relating to Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Mr Obama promised to respond "proportionately" to the cyber-attack.
"I'll wait to review what the findings are," he said, adding that he did not think the attack "was an act of war".
The US has reportedly also asked China to curb cyber-attacks by North Korea.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79880000/jpg/_79880822_456468526.jpg

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and John Kerry discussed the Sony hacking during a phone call
China is North Korea's close ally and is seen as the nation with the most influence over Pyongyang.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held a telephone conversation with his US counterpart John Kerry on Sunday in which they discussed the Sony row.

Mr Wang said China was "against all forms of cyber-attacks and cyber-terrorism" but did not refer directly to North Korea.
In a statement posted on China's foreign ministry's website (in Chinese) (http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_chn/zyxw_602251/t1221386.shtml) on Monday, he said that China "opposes any country or person using infrastructure from another country to launch a cyber attack on a third-party country".

At a later news conference, a foreign ministry spokesman said China wanted to "engage in constructive co-operation with the international community in cyber security on the basis of mutual respect and mutual trust".

Asked to respond to claims that North Korea was using Chinese facilities for cyber-attacks, the spokesman added: "I think to arrive at any conclusion, sufficient facts and evidence are needed. China will handle the case on the basis of facts, international laws and Chinese laws."
Correspondents say the issue of hacking is a sensitive one in Sino-US relations, with the two sides frequently trading accusations of cyber-espionage.

The Interview features James Franco and Seth Rogen as two journalists granted an audience with Mr Kim. The CIA then enlists the pair to assassinate him.

Sony says it made the decision to cancel its release after most US cinemas chose not to screen the film, following terrorism threats.



22 November: Sony computer systems hacked, exposing embarrassing emails and personal details about stars
7 December: North Korea denies accusations that it is behind the cyber-attack, but praises it as a "righteous deed"
16 December: "Guardians of Peace" hacker group threatens 9/11-type attack on cinemas showing film; New York premiere cancelled
17 December: Leading US cinema groups say they will not screen film; Sony cancels Christmas-day release
19 December: FBI concludes North Korea orchestrated hack; President Obama calls Sony cancellation "a mistake"
20 December: North Korea proposes joint inquiry with US into hacks, rejected by the US.

[palani]

These people don't know what sort of fire they are playing with. A few more threats and Obama might cave in and normalize relations with them, thereby opening up their culture to 'Americanization' just as in Cuba.

[collector]

"China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and John Kerry discussed the Sony hacking during a phone call" - yet the picture shows Kerry talking to Wang in person, with a still shot looking like he's lecturing him. I'm so sick of the media propaganda - total mind manipulation

[Cebu_4_2]

Obama: U.S. Reviewing Whether To Put North Korea Back On Terrorism Sponsor List

http://s.huffpost.com/images/v/ap_wire.png | By JOSH LEDERMAN

Posted: 12/21/2014 9:25 am EST Updated: 12/21/2014 10:59 pm EST

HONOLULU (AP) -- The United States is reviewing whether to put North Korea back onto its list of state sponsors of terrorism, President Barack Obama said as the U.S. decides how to respond to the cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment that law enforcement has blamed on the communist nation.

Obama described the hacking case as a "very costly, very expensive" example of cybervandalism, but did not call it an act of war. In trying to fashion a proportionate response, the president said the U.S. would examine the facts to determine whether North Korea should find itself back on the terrorism sponsors list.

"We're going to review those through a process that's already in place," Obama told CNN's "State of the Union" in an interview to air Sunday. "I'll wait to review what the findings are."

North Korea spent two decades on the list until the Bush administration removed it in 2008 during nuclear negotiations. Some lawmakers have called for the designation to be restored following the hack that led Sony to cancel the release of a big-budget film that North Korea found offensive.

Only Iran, Sudan, Syria and Cuba remain on the list, which triggers sanctions that limit U.S. aid, defense exports and certain financial transactions.

But adding North Korea back could be difficult. To meet the criteria, the State Department must determine that a country has repeatedly supported acts of international terrorism, a definition that traditionally has referred to violent, physical attacks rather than hacking.
Obama also leveled fresh criticism against Sony over its decision to shelve "The Interview," despite the company's insistence that its hand was forced after movie theaters refused to show it.

While professing sympathy for Sony's situation, Obama suggested he might have been able to help address the problem if given the chance.
"You know, had they talked to me directly about this decision, I might have called the movie theater chains and distributors and asked them what that story was," Obama said.

Sony's CEO has disputed that the company never reached out, saying he spoke to a senior White House adviser about the situation before Sony announced the decision. White House officials said Sony did discuss cybersecurity with the federal government, but that the White House was never consulted on the decision not to distribute the film.

"Sometimes this is a matter of setting a tone and being very clear that we're not going to be intimidated by some, you know, cyberhackers," Obama said. "And I expect all of us to remember that and operate on that basis going forward."

North Korea has denied hacking the studio, and on Saturday proposed a joint investigation with the U.S. to determine the true culprit. The White House rejected the idea and said it was confident North Korea was responsible.

But the next decision - how to respond - is hanging over the president as he vacations with his family in Hawaii.
Obama's options are limited. The U.S. already has trade penalties in place and there is no appetite for military action.

[Cebu_4_2]

There is something about this movie "The Interview" they don't want to get out or has to be edited. Can't find a torrent for it.

Storyline

In the action-comedy The Interview, Dave Skylark (James Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Seth Rogen) run the popular celebrity tabloid TV show "Skylark Tonight." When they discover that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un is a fan of the show, they land an interview with him in an attempt to legitimize themselves as journalists. As Dave and Aaron prepare to travel to Pyongyang, their plans change when the CIA recruits them, perhaps the two least-qualified men imaginable, to assassinate Kim Jong-un. Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment (http://www.imdb.com/search/title?plot_author=Sony+Pictures+Entertainment&view=simple&sort=alpha&ref_=tt_stry_pl)

[madfranks]

There is something about this movie "The Interview" they don't want to get out or has to be edited. Can't find a torrent for it.



That's because the movie hasn't been released, in any form yet.

[Cebu_4_2]

He is using my mouse!

North Korea's internet appears to be under mass cyber attack

Updated by Max Fisher (http://www.vox.com/authors/max-fisher) on December 22, 2014, 11:10 a.m. ET @Max_Fisher (http://twitter.com/Max_Fisher) max@vox.com
Tweet (1,085) (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=North+Korea%27s+internet+appears+to+be+ under+mass+cyber+attack&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2F2014%2F12%2F22%2F74 33873%2Fnorth-korea-internet-down%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter% 26utm_campaign%3Dvox%26utm_content%3Dshare%3Aartic le%3Atop&via=Max_Fisher) Share (7,192) (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fvox.com%2Fe%2F7197914%3F utm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_ campaign%3Dvox%26utm_content%3Dshare%3Aarticle%3At op) +

https://cdn0.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cjJBIilu9QubXq-XHcZxzPv9hSE=/0x31:2500x1698/755x504/assets.sbnation.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/44385878/comment_9Cyj8TKSiVXqyG4khoau2u5357oWamxA.0.0.jpg Kim Jong Un inspects "new" military technology made by unit 1501 of the Korean People's Army in this 2013 photo. KCNA

Internet connectivity between North Korea and the outside world, though never robust to begin with, is currently suffering one of its worst outages in recent memory (http://www.northkoreatech.org/2014/12/22/north-koreas-internet-link-is-flaky-today/), suggesting that the country may be enduring a mass cyber attack a few days after President Obama warned (http://www.vox.com/cards/sony-hack-north-korea/how-has-the-us-government-responded-to-the-sony-hacks) the US would launch a "proportional response" to North Korea's hack against Sony (http://www.vox.com/cards/sony-hack-north-korea/why-are-the-attacks-on-sony-a-big-deal).

"I haven't seen such a steady beat of routing instability and outages in KP before," said Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at the cybsecurity firm Dyn Research, according to Martyn Williams (http://www.northkoreatech.org/2014/12/22/north-koreas-internet-link-is-flaky-today/) of the excellent blog North Korea Tech (http://www.northkoreatech.org). Madory explained, "Usually there are isolated blips, not continuous connectivity problems. I wouldn't be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently."

While it's entirely possible that this is due to run-of-the-mill maintenance or technical issues, it's hard to miss that the outage comes just days after President Obama condemned North Korea as responsible (http://www.vox.com/cards/sony-hack-north-korea/whats-the-evidence-that-north-korea-was-responsible-for-the-attacks) for the massive cyberattack against Sony (http://www.vox.com/cards/sony-hack-north-korea/what-is-the-interview-and-why-is-north-korea-so-mad-about-it) and pledged a "proportional" US response.

The outage also comes as China is investigating (http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-22/china-said-to-probe-u-s-claims-of-north-korea-role-in-sony-hack.html) the accusations against North Korea over the Sony hack. North Korea's internet access is wired through China, which gives China more or less direct control over North Korea's access to the outside world.

Yes, North Korea does have the internet. Very few citizens have access to it, it's slow, and the connection is shaky. But it allows North Korea's state media, its propagandists, and its vaunted cyberwarfare divisions a way to access the outside world, as well as ways for sympathetic Koreans in South Korea and Japan to link up with the Hermit Kingdom. The country is wired through China, North Korea's northern neighbor and sole ally.

Why could this be happening? Did the US launch a cyber attack against North Korea in retaliation for the Sony hack? On the one hand, the White House has reportedly ruled out (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/world/asia/us-asks-china-to-help-rein-in-korean-hackers.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0) any sort of "demonstration strike" cyber reprisal against North Korean internet targets. On the other, that does not necessarily rule out a possible American effort to simply disrupt or sever North Korea's connection to the outside internet, if only to block future attacks.

It's also possible that China is attempting to shut down North Korea's internet connections with the outside world, perhaps so as to avoid future North Korean attacks that would embarrass China. While China is North Korea's patron, it also typically seeks to tamp down the Hermit Kingdom's provocations, which Beijing rightly sees as bad for Chinese interests.

Vigilante hackers could also theoretically be responsible, perhaps in an attempt to punish North Korea for the Sony attack, although past efforts by groups such as Anonymous have been spectacular failures.

While it's possible that North Korea is preemptively closing off its own internet access, hoping to prevent or preempt any US reprisal attacks, that would not explain why connectivity occasionally pops back up, suggesting that either an outage or a deliberate attack is the cause.
Read more on North Korea:

• North Korea's insane rant against the US and Sony: what it would say if they told the truth (http://www.vox.com/2014/12/22/7434177/north-korea-sony-translated-annotated)
• Here's the real reason North Korea hacked Sony. It has nothing to do with The Interview. (http://www.vox.com/2014/12/19/7421535/the-real-reason-north-korea-would-hack-sony-its-not-the-interview)
• North Korea's gulags: a horror "without any parallel in the contemporary world" (http://www.vox.com/2014/10/27/7073029/north-korea-gulags-prison-camps-explainer)
• The 2014 Sony hacks, explained (http://www.vox.com/cards/sony-hack-north-korea/why-are-the-attacks-on-sony-a-big-deal)
Card 6 of 11 Launch cards (http://www.vox.com/cards/sony-hack-north-korea/could-north-korea-really-have-pulled-off-these-attacks)

Could North Korea really have pulled off these attacks? (http://www.vox.com/cards/sony-hack-north-korea/could-north-korea-really-have-pulled-off-these-attacks)

Can North Korea — one of the poorest, most isolated countries in the world, a place where personal computers are banned and the internet does not officially exist — possibly be that good at hacking? Even some in the hacking community (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sony-hack-former-anonymous-hacker-not-convinced-north-korea-is-responsible/) have been asking this question.

The answer is, yes, North Korea really is that good at hacking. North Korean government hackers have launched a number of successful, high-profile attacks in recent years — as well as an unknown number of lower-profile ones. The attacks have been growing in scale and sophistication as North Korea ratchets up its largely military-run cyber warfare program.

The first known attacks came in 2009 (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/31789294/ns/technology_and_science-security/t/us-eyes-n-korea-massive-cyber-attacks/#.VJIm0GTF_Cc) against South Korean and US web sites. While those attacks did little damage, they did alert US officials to the growing problem of cyber warfare. Since then, North Korea has launched increasingly sophisticated hacks against South Korea, including an attack in 2014 (http://www.koreatimesus.com/nis-north-korea-attempts-to-hack-into-soth-koreans-smartphones/) that seeded thousands of cell phones with an Angry Birds-style game containing malware that eventually gave the hackers control of those phones.

North Korea keeps its own population offline, but its hackers are thought to be trained in China and Russia and are given higher status and better lifestyles within the country. According to defectors who have fled the country, one of the main reasons for the country's focus on cyber warfare is that it's much less expensive than traditional military weapons like planes, tanks, and bombs. And as the world grows ever more interconnected, those hackers can have a more devastating effect.

Additional writing for this card was done by Max Fisher.


The 2014 Sony hacks, explained (http://www.vox.com/cards/sony-hack-north-korea/could-north-korea-really-have-pulled-off-these-attacks) 11 Cards / Edited By Todd VanDerWerff Updated Dec 19 2014, 11:08p




World and Defense (http://www.vox.com/world_and_defense)

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[mick silver]

look like they will not be getting anymore porn there

[Cebu_4_2]

look like they will not be getting anymore porn there

I like that picture but I can't tell WTF it is... 2nd look my mouse is a bit different.