They went into the computer lab at their university
That's civilian; the military is a whole 'nother story:
From a Reuters story about the Sony hack [0]:
Military hackers are among the most talented, and rewarded, people in North Korea, handpicked and trained from as young as 17, said Jang Se-yul, who studied with them at North Korea's military college for computer science, or the University of Automation, before defecting to the South six years ago.
Speaking to Reuters in Seoul, he said the Bureau 121 unit comprises about 1,800 cyber-warriors, and is considered the elite of the military.
"For them, the strongest weapon is cyber. In North Korea, it’s called the Secret War," Jang said.
One of his friends works in an overseas team of the unit, and is ostensibly an employee of a North Korean trading firm, Jang said. Back home, the friend and his family have been given a large state-allocated apartment in an upscale part of Pyongyang, Jang said.
That's civilian; the military is a whole 'nother story:
From a Reuters story about the Sony hack [0]:
Military hackers are among the most talented, and rewarded, people in North Korea, handpicked and trained from as young as 17, said Jang Se-yul, who studied with them at North Korea's military college for computer science, or the University of Automation, before defecting to the South six years ago.
Speaking to Reuters in Seoul, he said the Bureau 121 unit comprises about 1,800 cyber-warriors, and is considered the elite of the military.
"For them, the strongest weapon is cyber. In North Korea, it’s called the Secret War," Jang said.
One of his friends works in an overseas team of the unit, and is ostensibly an employee of a North Korean trading firm, Jang said. Back home, the friend and his family have been given a large state-allocated apartment in an upscale part of Pyongyang, Jang said.
[0] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/05/us-sony-cybersecur...