North Korea staying away from U.S. servers since Sony hack

WASHINGTON, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- No North Korea cyberattacks have occurred in the United States since Sony Pictures was hacked in late 2014, but FBI Director James Comey said there is evidence Pyongyang has hacked servers in other countries.

Speaking at a congressional hearing on Thursday, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper said there have been no signs of a North Korean cyberattack against U.S. entities since the Sony case, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers also said no North Korea activities were detected in the industrial sector aimed at disrupting U.S. businesses.

Instead, North Korea has been active in infiltrating servers in other countries while staying away from U.S. servers, according to Comey who testified at the same hearing as Clapper. The FBI director said the White House's vow of a "proportional" response less than a month after the Nov. 24 hack may have had an effect on Pyongyang's decision makers.

On Dec. 21 and 22, for 10 hours, North Korea's Internet blacked out, with thousands of computers unable to function. The outage took place not long after the Obama administration named the North Korean leadership as the leading suspect behind the Sony hack.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, had said in March a December Internet blackout in North Korea was a retaliatory strike after the data breach at Sony.

Clapper said in his statement that politically motivated cyberattacks were a "growing reality," and classified North Korea as a country with "lesser technical capabilities" than Russia or China, but with "possibly more disruptive intent."