Forget North Korea's Missile System. Here's What You Should Really Be Concerned About

WASHINGTON -- While North Korea dictator Kim Jong-Un struggles to develop a long range nuclear ballistic missile, experts are warning what we need to be concerned about is the threat of more cyberattacks.
  
Kim's military is quietly developing a group of sophisticated cyber hackers who could potentially cripple key United States operations with a few mouse clicks.

"Our policy makers, our government leaders and corporate leaders are not adequately recognizing risks that exist," cyber-security expert John Bambenek said.

Bambenek says our reliance on technology requires much greater security.

He added that governments, including the Unites States, often don't realize that need until major hacks take place, like hacks to government agencies.   

In 2015, Pentagon officials admitted it found 30 million known malicious intrusions on Department of Defense networks.  That's 30 million cyberattacks in just 10 months or 100,000 attacks per day.

Despite North Korea first connecting to the world wide web in just 2010, the country is already known for developing "teams of cyber attackers."
  
"There are training camps and schools that identify talent when they are young and train them in this stuff in terms of how to compromise networks and how to manipulate people and individuals on how to compromise their own security," Bambenek explained. 

Bambenek says leaders start early, looking for kids with promise in areas like math, then putting those young prospects in elite schools. The children undergo rigorous computer training and eventually graduate into the military's cyber operation unit.

An August 2014 security briefing by Hewlett Packard shows this force could be nearly 6,000 soldiers strong, with many masking activity by operating in foreign countries.
   
"In North Korea in addition to their warfare capabilities and cyber is a big part of it. They are actually penetrating crime. They've been so isolated by the international community they are actually turning to cyber means to fund their day to day operations. That's very different. So here you have state sponsored crime." 

Frank Cilluffo is with The Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University.  

He told us a North Korean group, known as Lazarus, recently targeted 31 countries, and ripped off $81 million in Bangladesh alone.

In one well known hack, the group 'Guardians of Peace' hit Sony Pictures in 2014. That resulted in delaying the release of The Interview, a comedy which made fun of North Korea's leader and his assassination.
   
"That's a game changer in some ways. Where you worry about crime trying to influence the state, here you have states trying to influence crime," Cillufo said.
    
So what is this administration doing to stop this?

A White House official told CBN News a fully functional cyber security team is in place, but even they admit it's a long way from protecting the hundreds of government departments and agencies. Cyber security experts agree.

"We are never going to simply firewall our way out of this problem," Cillufo warned.

So what is the solution?

"To me we need to invest in our offensive capabilities," Cillufo said. "If there is a missing dimension of our cyber domain, it's we don't have a deterrent strategy."

In other words, there'll be serious consequences when cyber hackers do cross that silicon line because ultimately, it's about stopping bad people from engaging in bad activity.