South Korean Banks Brace For Electro-Magnetic Pulse
South Korean banks are drawing up plans to protect critical electronic data from a potential electromagnetic pulse attack by North Korea.
The South's banks and other infrastructure, including nuclear power stations and government ministries, have been the target of successful North Korean hacking attacks in the past and there are growing concerns that the nation's financial institutions could be crippled by an EMP weapon, either in the form of a nuclear blast or a conventional electromagnetic pulse device.
Banks are looking into establishing data centres overseas, The Korea Herald reported, or the construction of reinforced repositories designed to withstand the blast of an EMP weapon. Electronic equipment exposed to an electromagnetic pulse can experience damaging current and voltage surges, while data stored electronically can be corrupted.
"Current regulations prohibit the transfer of client information overseas, so we are discussing ways to revise those rules so we can set up data back-up centres abroad", a financial official told the newspaper.
The banks are acting after the government warned on 28th September that North Korea is "highly likely" to carry out additional military provocations in the coming weeks.
After a series of nuclear tests and missiles launches, Pyongyang has been subjected to increasingly stringent sanctions imposed by the international community.
The regime of Kim Jong-un continues to defy the rest of the world, however, and insists that it will continue to develop and deploy weapons capable of reaching targets anywhere in the continental United States.
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