Asymetric cyber war from Norks

Peter Brooks:

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Analysts think North Korea has developed a small unit of perhaps 1,000 cyber-soldiers involved in offensive computer operations as a way of being a continuing pest to its sworn enemies, America and South Korea. While cyber-warfare isn't a nuclear or missile test, it's a way to ruffle feathers.

Plus, it could also be useful in wartime. For instance, shutting off the lights in an electrical-grid attack or switching off a nation's air-traffic-control system would certainly distract a commander-in-chief.

It's also curious these attacks began over the July 4 weekend -- just as North Korea launched a slew of ballistic missiles in another show of defiance against the international community.

Recently, it's been reported that Kim chose his son Kim Jong Un to succeed him as ruler of the "Kim-dom" when he goes, which could be soon.

The younger Kim, like his father when he was being groomed, is now in charge of the intelligence apparatus. This cyber-assault could be the heir's way of showing his mettle to dear old Dad.

While this attack was relatively unsophisticated, a cyber-warfare capability certainly puts a new asymmetric arrow in North Korea's quiver -- which should, at a minimum, serve as another wake-up call about this here-and-now threat to our national security.

China could stop these attacks by cutting off the North Korean access to the internet. China is probably also the source of their computers used in the attack. If it were serious about stopping these guys it could do so.