A rare joint alert from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation explicitly blames the government of North Korea for a series of hacking attacks on various American targets, dating as far back as 2009. The government alert warns that more such "state-sponsored cyberattacks," as they're known in security jargon, are likely to come.
The DHS and FBI statement today says "cyber actors of the North Korean government," referred to in the report as "Hidden Cobra," targeted U.S. media, aerospace and finance, and critical infrastructure in the United States and abroad.
From Reuters:
The new level of detail about the U.S. government's analysis of suspected North Korean hacking activity coincides with increasing tensions between Washington and Pyongyang because of North Korea's missile tests. The alert warned that North Korea would continue to rely on cyber operations to advance its military and strategic objectives.
North Korea has routinely denied involvement in cyber attacks against other countries.
The North Korean mission to the United Nations was not immediately available for comment.
Tuesday's alert said Hidden Cobra has been previously referred to by private sector experts as Lazarus Group and Guardians of the Peace, which have been linked to attacks such as the 2014 intrusion into Sony Corp's (6758.T) Sony Pictures Entertainment.
