South Koean Hack: Nope, It Was Not China

Source: CNN.

As you know by now, North Koreans likely hacked South Korea a couple of days ago:  hitting banks and media companies.  Yesterday, a South Korean report indicated it was the Chinese.  Unless than 24 hours later, they changed their tune.

Looks like China was innocent this time around.  It was not involved in the hack of South Korean banks and media companies.  Apparently, South Korean authorities kinda jumped the gun in blaming an IP address coming out of China.

When I learned about Chinese involvement in this, I was very perplexed.  I find it unlikely given the delicate political situation that China would do something this juvenile.  The timing of the hacking and the targets seem more like the street-style bullying of the Kim Dynasty in North Korea.

Having said that, how did this happen?  How did the Korean authorities get it so wrong?  Well, apparently, initial examination of one of the banks showed that there was a malicious code that did originate from the Chinese IP address.

So, the Chinese did hack a South Korean bank but at a different time.  China was merely accused of the wrong crime.

Go figure.  If not for the threat of nukes and million+ armies just outside a demilitarized zone, this would also seem comical.