Hacking at an Early Age

[This posting was mis-linked to another story; the Dong A-Ilbo link is in place with my apologies.]

Donga A-Ilbo has a useful story about the formal education of DPRK computer hackers.  There have been previous reports about the DPRK building up its computer technology and hacking capabilities as part of its larger SIGINT operations, and several cyber-attacks during the summer of 2009 were allegedly conducted by North Koreans in coordination with operatives dispersed in countries throughout the world.  Pyongyang watchers have been aware for some time, in open sources due in part to the top flight research of Joseph Bermudez, of the Mirim War College (a/k/a Kim Il College) with its Electronic Warfare Research Institute education facility.  This news account now alleges that education in computer hacking as early as age 10 at the Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace and that such illicit technology education continues into senior middle school, specifically at the Kumsong secondary schools.  One will note that one Kumsong campus is adjacent to PIINTEC’s [Pyongyang International Information Center on New Technology and Economy] IT Center.  These are not the only institutions where alleged computer hacking education occurs, there other places in Pyongyang and DPRK where this occurs.