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US dubs N. Korea as strong cyber power along with China, Russia in defense bill

June 29, 2015
North Korean workers outside of their home country claim that most of their wages get sent to the North Korean government. (Yonhap)

North Korean workers outside of their home country claim that most of their wages get sent to the North Korean government. (Yonhap)

WASHINGTON, June 28 (Yonhap) — The U.S. defense budget bill for next year has singled out North Korea, along with China and Russia, as foreign powers with strong cyber capabilities.

The bill (H.R.1735), which passed the Senate earlier this month and is awaiting approval from the House, calls for the government to assess its capabilities to defend against cyber attacks by foreign powers “with capabilities comparable to the capabilities of China, Iran, North Korea and Russia.”

The measure requires the principal cyber adviser to the secretary of defense to sponsor an independent panel to assess the ability of the National Mission Forces of the U.S. Cyber Command to reliably prevent or block large-scale attacks by foreign powers expected in the years 2020 and 2025.

The panel should include independent experts in cyber warfare technology, intelligence and operations, as well as independent experts in non-cyber military operations, according to the bill.

North Korea’s cyber capabilities have emerged as a fresh concern for the U.S. after the communist nation was found to have carried out the massive cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment last year apparently in anger over a movie ridiculing leader Kim Jong-un.

The defense bill also calls for the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman to conduct a series of war games to assess the strategy, assumptions and capabilities of the U.S. Cyber Command to prevent large-scale cyber attacks by foreign powers.

The principal cyber adviser and the JCS chairman are required to submit to both the House and Senate armed forces committees their findings with regard to the capability assessment and the war games within a year after the bill’s enactment.