The Evolution of Kim Jong Un’s ‘All-Purpose Sword’
Contents
October 28, 2022 | CEEW Monograph
The Evolution of Kim Jong Un’s ‘All-Purpose Sword’
October 28, 2022 | CEEW Monograph
The Evolution of Kim Jong Un’s ‘All-Purpose Sword’
Introduction
For decades, the Kim regime has used weapons tests, border conflicts, and acts of terrorism to gain attention and raise tensions. The regime then demands economic and political benefits in exchange for reducing the tensions it provoked.1 Pyongyang has the potential to add cyberattacks to this repertoire. Kim Jong Un reportedly described cyber warfare in 2012 as North Korea’s “all-purpose sword,” which provides “a capability to strike relentlessly.”2 In the decade since then, Pyongyang has wielded its growing cyber capabilities to reap financial, political, and strategic benefits to prolong the Kim regime’s survival.
Over the past four years, Pyongyang’s financially motivated cybercrime has become more prolific. North Korean cyberattacks increased by 32 percent year over year in 2020, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.3 The blockchain …
The Evolution of Kim Jong Un’s ‘All-Purpose Sword’
October 28, 2022 | CEEW Monograph
The Evolution of Kim Jong Un’s ‘All-Purpose Sword’
Introduction
For decades, the Kim regime has used weapons tests, border conflicts, and acts of terrorism to gain attention and raise tensions. The regime then demands economic and political benefits in exchange for reducing the tensions it provoked.1 Pyongyang has the potential to add cyberattacks to this repertoire. Kim Jong Un reportedly described cyber warfare in 2012 as North Korea’s “all-purpose sword,” which provides “a capability to strike relentlessly.”2 In the decade since then, Pyongyang has wielded its growing cyber capabilities to reap financial, political, and strategic benefits to prolong the Kim regime’s survival.
Over the past four years, Pyongyang’s financially motivated cybercrime has become more prolific. North Korean cyberattacks increased by 32 percent year over year in 2020, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.3 The blockchain …