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North Korea's hand suspected in cyber attacks
Seoul was on high alert on Thursday for more cyber attacks amid suspicions that North Korea was behind a recent wave of website outages in South Korea and the United States.
- AP
- Published: 22:45 July 9, 2009
Seoul: Seoul was on high alert on Thursday for more cyber attacks amid suspicions that North Korea was behind a recent wave of website outages in South Korea and the United States.
The South warned that computer networks of key infrastructure could be targeted. The National Intelligence Service said in a statement it was strengthening cyber security measures for government computer networks, citing a possible new wave of attacks that could target national infrastructure operators like energy, telecommunications and media companies.
Also on Thursday, the country's leading computer security company also warned another wave of attacks was expected in South Korea later in the day. There was no word on whether US sites would be hit again.
Seoul-based antivirus software developer AhnLab said it has analysed a virus program that sent a flood of internet traffic to paralyse websites in both South Korea and the United States. It said seven South Korean sites were likely to be targeted yesterday.
Twelve South Korean sites were initially attacked on Tuesday, followed by strikes on Wednesday on 10 others, including government offices. The US targets included the White House, Pentagon, Treasury Department and the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Some South Korean sites remained inaccessible or unstable on Thursday, including the National Cyber Security Centre, affiliated with the main spy agency.
No major disruptions, however, were reported.
The NIS informed members of parliament's intelligence committee on Wednesday that it believes North Korea or pro-Pyongyang forces were behind the cyber attacks, a lawmaker said.
Rep. Park Young Sun, a member of the committee, said a senior intelligence official told her the NIS suspects the North because the country warned it won't tolerate what it claimed were South Korean moves to participate in a US-led cyber warfare exercise, according to a statement from the opposition Democratic Party.
Park also told a party meeting that the NIS official cited the fact that most of the attacked sites were those of conservative organisations that have pushed the government to take a harder line on North Korea.
Among the sites targeted were those of the presidential Blue House and the ruling Grand National Party.
Park said the NIS official told her the spy agency only gave the committee members the information in the form of a progress report, suggesting no conclusions had been made. Park didn't identify the official.
The spy agency said it could not immediately confirm Park's remarks.
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