High-tech cyber weapons that North Korea intends to develop, aiming to cause problems in South Korea's nuclear facilities.
According to a BBC publication, which cites the Yonhap agency, the country's Ministry of Defense wishes to develop weapons similar to the infamous Stuxnet, which was used against Iran's nuclear facilities and to put them into use.
According to Yonhap, the Ministry of Defense presented its plan to the government on February 19. As the agency reports, it is the second phase of a strategy that began in 2010, and includes conducting an online propaganda campaign, through posts on North Korean social networking services.
«Once the plan of the second phase is determined, the cyberwarfare administration will conduct extensive cyberwarfare missions» said a ministry official.
As noted in the BBC publication, the South Korean cyberwarfare administration, which is also intended to use the weapons, has been accused of using psychological warfare techniques on the population of North Korea in order to influence voters in the 2012 elections.
Regarding the issue of using cyber weapons to cause damage to nuclear facilities, Professor Alan Goodworth, a cyber security expert, said to the BBC that it is a very dangerous activity.
«I think it would be very dangerous. (The weapon) could cause damage to things that were not targets» noted, highlighting the risk of the spread of malicious code of cyber weapons, as well as that such a thing could result in reaching the hands of hackers or officials of armed forces of other countries, who could develop corresponding means in turn.».
