US and South Korea defense pact extends to cyberwarfare, outer space

In a recent indictment, North Korean government hacking group Andariel was accused by the Department of Justice of laundering crypto ransom payments to buy infrastructure that led to attacks on two US Air Force bases, the NASA Office of Inspector General, and several South Korean entities.

South Korea and US face rising cyber threats from North Korea, Russia

The decision to define cyberspace and outer space threats in the mutual defense treaty comes amid growing concerns that Russia may be aiding North Korea with technological advancements, which would likely include cyberwarfare, in return for North Korean boots on the ground in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Growing cyberthreats from China are also top of mind. According to the Korea Herald, the US has 6,000 cyber warfare hackers — compared to China’s 100,000+ and Russia’s 200,000+.

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