NKorea Targeting US Sites for Cyberattacks

North Korean cyberattacks continue to target critical U.S. sites, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI warned.

Word of the latest cyberattack alert came in a story by The Washington Free Beacon.

U.S. officials warned the North Korean government, using cyber tools, is targeting "the media, aerospace, financial, and critical infrastructure sectors in the United State and globally," according to the Free Beacon.

"The U.S. government refers to the malicious cyber activity by the North Korean government as Hidden Cobra," the notice said. "FBI has high confidence that Hidden Cobra actors are using the IP addresses for further network exploitation," the notice said.

Officials rank North Korea as one of the most dangerous cyber actors for its ability to cause damage on computer networks, NBC News reported.

North Korean hackers attacked Sony Pictures in 2014 and disclosed sensitive company information. And experts say North Korea could use the same techniques to impact the U.S. economy, the network news reported.

"We've been worried for some time that one of the ways that North Korea can retaliate against further escalation of tensions is via cyber, and particularly attacks against our financial sector," said Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of the cybersecurity firm, Crowdstrike. "This is something they have really perfected as an art against South Korea."

NBC News also said the Hidden Cobra group was a prime suspect in the theft of $81 million from a Bangladesh bank. The cyber operations are believed to have been designed to obtain money for North Korea's weapons programs.

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