Cyber attack on U.S. power companies: Experts believe North Korea is behind attempts to infect systems with malware

Tensions between the United States and North Korea just seem to be getting worse and worse. According to the Daily Mail, U.S. cybersecurity experts now believe that a team of North Korean Internet hackers targeted American power companies in an attempt to download malware in preparation for a cyber attack.

According to a report by the Internet security firm FireEye, the hackers sent emails to these power companies asking them to participate in a fundraiser. Once the invitation was downloaded, the computer network would become infected with malware.

It is still unclear how successful the hacking attempts were, but FireEye believes that the attack was the result of heightened tensions between the United States and North Korea in recent months. Similar attacks from the North Korean government have been carried out on South Korean electric utilities and other government institutions in the past.

FireEye stated that the hacking attempts on South Korea were most likely a means of “deterring potential war or sowing disorder during a time of armed conflict.” The Internet security firm added, “North Korea linked hackers are among the most prolific nation-state threats, targeting not only the US and South Korea but the global financial system and nations worldwide.”

“Their motivations vary from economic enrichment to traditional espionage to sabotage, but all share the hallmark of an ascendant cyber power willing to violate international norms with little regard for potential blowback,” FireEye said.

“This is a signal that North Korea is a player in the cyber-intrusion field and it is growing in its ability to hurt us,” explained C. Frank Figliuzzi, a former chief of counterintelligence at the FBI during an interview with NBC News.

While many leftists and noninterventionists believe that the United States should look the other way and take the constant threats made by North Korea with a grain of salt, it is important that we are prepared to defend ourselves if we are left with no other options. If tensions between the United States and North Korea continue to rise, and our national security continues to be threatened, it may eventually be time to consider military action.

It’s worth noting that North Korea’s cyber attacks are only part of the overall threat that the nation poses to the United States. Despite numerous warnings from President Trump, the North Korean government has continued the development and testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles, which could soon be used to carry out a nuclear strike or an EMP attack. Needless to say, either one of those would cause an enormous amount of damage and loss of innocent life.

Back in July of this year, CNN reported on one of North Korea’s most serious threats to date: That they would carry out a nuclear strike on “the heart of the U.S.” if their regime continues to be threatened.

A spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry warned that if the United States were to show “even the slightest sign of attempt to remove our supreme leadership,” then they would deliver a “merciless blow” with a “powerful nuclear hammer, honed and hardened over time.”

Even though President Trump has yet to take any real action against the North Korean regime, and although the United States government has yet to get passed to strategizing phase, the American people better be thankful that it’s not Hillary Clinton sitting in the Oval Office instead. Having Hillary Clinton as our commander-in-chief would be disastrous for a number of reasons, but perhaps most significantly, the United States just wouldn’t be safe in the face of an increasingly hostile North Korean government.

Instead, we have a commander-in-chief who believes in the words of the late Ronald Reagan: peace through strength.

Sources include:

Dailymail.co.uk

CNN.com