from Hacker News

Teaching open-source software in North Korea

by jackpirate on 6/24/21, 4:47 PM with 103 comments

  • by the_af on 6/26/21, 3:58 PM

    I find it interesting that, according to the article and in 2016 at least, North Korean graduate students had unfiltered internet access! Probably monitored, and it mentions they were forbidden from creating accounts in social media platforms, but still... unfiltered access!

    This tells me there's a lot we don't know about NK. Lots of people seem to assume maximum oppression/censorship by default, when the reality might be more nuanced.

  • by Clewza313 on 6/26/21, 12:26 PM

    Nice story, but GitHub is prohibited by the US OFAC sanctions regime from offering service to North Korea:

    https://docs.github.com/en/github/site-policy/github-and-tra...

    Intentional violations of these sanctions can be punished with prison time.

  • by kleton on 6/26/21, 8:11 PM

    > The reason—as it was explained to me—is because the United States controls most internet infrastructure (including websites like Twitter), and through programs like the NSA’s PRISM and the Army’s Cyber Command is spying on and manipulating social media.

    Not exactly false

  • by damagednoob on 6/26/21, 5:28 PM

    After listening to The Lazarus heist[1] I find it hard to have sympathy for Izbicki's position. Children are recruited into computer science from a young age in NK with the express purpose of furthering the state's objectives. Mainly by funding the regime and circumventing sanctions by engaging in hacking. There's a good chance he's helping train the next generation.

    1: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-57520169

  • by Bostonian on 6/26/21, 3:43 PM

    North Korea does have a nuclear weapons program that much of the rest of the world would like to hinder. What tech restrictions on North Korea make sense?

    I remember that when Fortran compilers were sold on CD-ROM that the packaging of Digital Visual Fortran said the compiler was not for resale to North Korea and maybe Iran.

    Now Fortran, C, and C++ compilers that would be used in modeling nuclear bombs are open source, and I don't think people in any country can be stopped from accessing them, as a practical matter.

  • by jollybean on 6/26/21, 9:14 PM

    There is a 100% chance this tech will be used to surveil, subdue and repress people in draconian ways.

  • by IngvarLynn on 6/26/21, 6:24 PM

    The fates of many american useful idiots in USSR are quite gloom - serving tens of years in siberian camps. Mike should've read the black book of communism instead of bible.