Bureau 121: Difference between revisions

Cyber operations are thought to be a cost-effective way for North Korea to maintain an asymmetric military option, as well as a means to gather intelligence; its primary intelligence targets are South Korea, Japan, and the United States.<ref name=arc/> Bureau 121 was created in 1998.<ref name=nyt1/>

==StaffingHistory==

The activities of the agency came to public attention in December 2014 when [[Sony Pictures]] canceled the opening of its movie ''[[The Interview]]'' after its computers [[Sony Pictures Entertainment hack|had been hacked]].<ref name= variety-interviewdropped>{{cite web|title=Major U.S. Theaters Drop 'The Interview' After Sony Hacker Threats|url= https://variety.com/2014/film/news/major-u-s-theaters-drop-the-interview-after-sony-hacker-threats-1201381861/ |website= Variety | accessdateaccess-date =December 17, 2014 | last1 = Lang | first1 = Brett |date= 17 December 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/18/politics/u-s-will-respond-to-north-korea-hack/ | first1 =Pamela | last1 = Brown | first2 = Jim | last2 = Sciutto | first3 = Evan | last3 = Perez | first4 = Jim | last4 = Acosta | first5 = Eric | last5 = Bradner |title=U.S. will respond to North Korea hack, official says| publisher = [[CNN]] |date=December 18, 2014| accessdateaccess-date = December 18, 2014}}</ref> Bureau 121 has been blamed for the cyber breach, but North Korea has rejected this accusation.<ref name = abc />

Much of the agency's activity has been directed at [[South Korea]].<ref name = reuters /><ref name=arc/> Prior to the attack at Sony, North Korea was said to have attacked more than 30,000 PCs in South Korea affecting banks and broadcasting companies as well as the website of South Korean President [[Park Geun-Hyehye]].<ref name = reuters /><ref name=arc/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-25/s-korea-president-s-websites-closed-for-review.html| author=Sangwon Yoon, Shinyye Kang |title=S. Korea Government, Media Sites Hacked Closed for Review| publisher=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]] |date=June 25, 2013 |accessdateaccess-date=December 20, 2014}}</ref> North Korea has also been thought to have been responsible for infecting thousands of South Korean smartphones in 2013 with a malicious gaming application.<ref name=abc>{{cite news |url = https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sony-hack-believed-routed-infected-computers-overseas/story?id=27667840 | title= Sony Hack Believed to Be Routed Through Infected Computers Overseas | first = Jack | last = Cloherty | work = ABC News | place = US | date= 17 December 2014 | publisher = Go}}</ref> The [[2013 South Korea cyberattack|attacks on South Korea]] were allegedly conducted by a group then called DarkSeoul Gang and estimated by the computer security company [[NortonLifeLock|Symantec]] to have only 10 to 50 members with a "unique" ability to infiltrate websites.<ref name=reuters/>

American authorities believe that North Korea has military offensive cyber operations capability and may have been responsible for malicious cyber activity since 2009.<ref name=arc/> As part of its sophisticated set-up, cells from Bureau 121 are believed to be operating around the world.<ref name="HHS2021">{{cite web |last=Healthcare Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center |first=(HC3) |title=North Korean Cyber Activity |url=https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/dprk-cyber-espionage.pdf |website=U.S. Department of Health & Human Services |date=2021}}</ref><ref name=wh/><ref>{{cite episode | series = [[The Lead with Jake Tapper]] | first = Jake | last = Tapper | network = CNN | airdate = 18 December 2014 | url = http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/12/18/panel-is-north-korea-waging-a-cyberwar | title = Panel: Were North Korean "cyber soldiers" behind Sony hack? | access-date = 21 January 2015 | archive-date = 26 March 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210326012906/https://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/12/18/panel-is-north-korea-waging-a-cyberwar/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> One of the suspected locations of a Bureau 121 cell is the Chilbosan Hotel in [[Shenyang]], China.<ref name=nyt1>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/19/world/asia/nsa-tapped-into-north-korean-networks-before-sony-attack-officials-say.html?_r=1 |author=David E. Sanger, Martin Fackler|

title=N.S.A. Breached North Korean Networks Before Sony Attack, Officials Say |publisherwork=[[nytimes.com]] |date=January 18, 2015| accessdateaccess-date=January 20, 2015}}</ref><ref name=Chilbosan>{{cite news|last1=Daly|first1=Michael|title=Inside the 'Surprisingly Great' North Korean Hacker Hotel|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/20/inside-the-surprisingly-great-north-korean-hacker-hotel.html|accessdateaccess-date=25 December 2014|agency=The Daily Beast|date=December 20, 2014}}</ref><ref name="AFPC2016"/>

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