Cyber Threat posed by North Korea and China to South Korea and US Forces Korea

Recent cyber attacks on the US and the Republic of Korea’s government agencies, research institutes, private companies, and infrastructure have created significant cause for concern among government officials and computer security experts of both countries. Located in the heart of Northeast Asia, the proving ground for cyber-warfare (CW), computer networks of the United States Forces Korea (USFK) are ripe targets for the region’s CW organizations. The Yonhap News Agency reported on May 5th that the US military, after years of tracking which countries accessed them the most, has found that users inside North Korea logged onto US military websites and networks most frequently. This paper explores the CW capabilities and developments of North Korea and China in an effort to ascertain possible threats posed against the US entities and interests in the region.