Left I on the News

All over the news are claims of web attacks in which North Korea is "suspected." Why are they suspected? Becaause "the South's spy agency has said the hacking may be linked to North Korea." Ah, well, that clinches it.

The level of disinformation is almost beyond belief. If we make it as far as the tenth paragraph of the article, we read this:

One online expert was quoted as telling a South Korean daily that tracking the spread of the malicious software showed it had originated from an IP address based in United States.

Long before we've gotten to that paragraph, however, we've read such things as: "the attacks...served as a reminder that Pyongyang has been planning for cyber warfare." Really? Only if they had anything to do with North Korea, about which the evidence is not only non-existent, but, based on the previous quoted statement, positively contra-indicated.

Elsewhere we read:

The attacks will likely be regarded by the North's leadership as a victory for Kim Jong-il -- even if Pyongyang was not behind them -- because they hurt the country's traditional foes, adding a new dimension to the threat level posed by the reclusive state.

which is not only speculative but also bizarrely convoluted, since the "threat...posed by the reclusive state" is only relevant if this was an "attack" by North Korea. And, by the way, that threat is described elsewhere in the article as having had "negligible" impact. Talk about having it both ways!

And what about that bit about how North Korea has been "planning for cyber warfare"? It's linked to yet another bit of speculation/possible disinformation:

An expert on North Korea at the Heritage Foundation, Bruce Klingner, said the North had in operation a military unit with up to 1,000 skilled computer hackers created 10 years ago.

Ah, the Heritage Foundation, that well-known source of independent, unbiased information. And, based as they are in Washington, D.C., sure to be the world's best source of information on the inner workings of North Korea.