South Korea military on alert after ‘massive’ computer hack

South Korea’s military is on high alert, as authorities investigate a possible cybersecurity breach that disabled computer systems at two main banks and at three television broadcast stations on Wednesday.

North Korea is the suspected culprit, military officials fear, as Reuters reported. The Associated Press said computer screens at the affected facilities went blank about 2 p.m. local time, and then pictures of skulls started popping up, in line with the methods used by North Korea's Information Security Agency.

The hacker took out the facilities’ server, LG UPlus Corp. The company said the hacker was going by the name of “Whois Team,” with a logo of three skulls, Reuters said. The group threatened: This is just the start of “Our Movement.”

“We sent down teams to all affected sites. We are now assessing the situation. This incident is pretty massive, and it will take a few days to collect evidence,” one police official said in the Reuters report.

The hacking comes amid growing tensions between the North and South. The North is threatening the West over sanctions and is also upset with military training exercises the South is conducting with the United States.

© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.