South Korea Forms Cyber Defense Unit

This was written by Jack Mann on Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 12:50.

According to reports in the South Korean press, the Ministry of National Defense will stand up a new cyber defense unit to combat cyber attacks from North Korea. The Cyber Defense Command will operate out of the intelligence headquarters of the ministry and will protect military systems from attacks.

An article in the JoongAng Daily, quoted an anonymous senior military official as saying “A major general will be in command and it will have about 400 to 500 soldiers. By 2012, it will have settled in as a complete, operating unit.”

The new Cyber Defense Command was initially set to be placed under the Defense Security Command, but that plan was withdrawn following allegations in August that the Defense Security Command was spying on civilians. The new command was placed in the intelligence section of the ministry to enable it to utilize all available intelligence to defend against cyber threats and stand up a counterattack capability.