Bureau 121

Bureau 121[4] is a North Korean cyberwarfare agency, and the main unit of the Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB) of North Korea's military.[5][6][7][8] It conducts offensive cyber operations, including espionage and cyber-enabled finance crime.[6][5] According to American authorities, the RGB manages clandestine operations and has six bureaus.[9][10]

Cyber operations are thought to be a cost-effective way for North Korea to maintain an asymmetric military option, as well as a means to gather intelligence; its primary intelligence targets are South Korea, Japan, and the United States.[10]

  1. ^ Pinkston, Daniel A. (2016). "Inter-Korean Rivalry in the Cyber Domain: The North Korean Cyber Threat in the "Sŏn'gun" Era". Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. 17 (3): 67–68. ISSN 1526-0054. JSTOR 26395976.
  2. ^ Park, Donghui (2019). "3.5 North Korea's Cyber Proxy Warfare Strategy" (PDF). North Korea's Cyber Proxy Warfare: Origins, Strategy, and Regional Security Dynamics (PhD). University of Washington. pp. 137–150.
  3. ^ Gause, Ken E. (August 2015). "North Korea's Provocation and Escalation Calculus: Dealing with the Kim Jong-un Regime" (PDF). Defense Technical Information Center. CNA Analysis & Solutions. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 6, 2021.
  4. ^ AKA: Department/Office/Unit 121, Electronic Reconnaissance Department, or the Cyber Warfare Guidance Department[1][2][3]
  5. ^ a b "Strategic Primer: Cybersecurity" (PDF). American Foreign Policy Council. 2016. p. 11.
  6. ^ a b Bartlett, Jason (2020). "Exposing the Financial Footprints of North Korea's Hackers". Center for a New American Security.
  7. ^ Park, Ju-Min; Pearson, James (December 5, 2014). "In North Korea, hackers are a handpicked, pampered elite". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 19, 2014. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  8. ^ Gibbs, Samuel (December 2, 2014). "Did North Korea's notorious Unit 121 cyber army hack Sony Pictures?". The Guardian. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  9. ^ John Pike. "North Korean Intelligence Agencies". Federation of American Scientists, Intelligence Resource Program. Retrieved January 20, 2015.
  10. ^ a b United States Department of Defense. "Military and Security Developments Involving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 2013" (PDF). Federation of American Scientists. Retrieved January 20, 2015.