U.N. agency could press N. Korea to stop hacking Seoul: report

 A United Nations agency responsible for information and communication technologies could urge North Korea to stop its run of cyber attacks on South Korea, a U.S. report said Thursday.

   In an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA), Sanjay Acharya, spokesman for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said the board of directors at the Geneva-based agency could press North Korea since it is a member state of the ITU.

   Acharya also said a member nation that has been victimized by cyber attacks can lodge a complaint with the ITU board, but added South Korea has yet to make a move.

   Quoting an unidentified expert, the RFA said there is no international agency or measure that can punish North Korea for its hacking. The expert said International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT), an alliance designed to help countries with their cyber security, is aware of North Korean antics but is in no position to investigate or stop such action.

   Earlier this week, South Korea condemned the North for a cyber attack that paralyzed the computer network of a major lender last month. North Korea was also blamed for two earlier hacking jobs on South Korean government and portal Web sites.

   The Foreign Ministry here believes the latest North Korean hacking was in violation of international law. The Unification Ministry, in charge of inter-Korean affairs, called the latest cyber attack "a provocation against our society that must be condemned."

(Yonhap News)