SOUTH KOREA: South Korean and U.S. web sites down following cyber attack, more attacks likely

Record ID: 355881

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: South Korean and U.S. web sites down following cyber attack, more attacks likely
  • Date: 10th July 2009
  • Summary: CONNECTING TO HOMEPAGE OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (NIS) THROUGH INTERNET VARIOUS OF BLANK SCREEN VARIOUS OF SEARCHING FOR AHN LAB WEBSITE
  • Embargoed: 25th July 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAU9JTR8Y7TA38WFQZSTH5JVDK
  • Story Text: Some South Korean and U.S. Internet sites were down or slowed to a crawl this week and a fresh wave of attacks could come later, a Web security firm said on Thursday (July 9).
    South's spy agency said the hacking may be linked to North Korea.
    The impact of the attacks that has been aimed at dozens of sites including the White House and South Korea's presidential office were seen as negligible, experts said, but served as a reminder that Pyongyang has been planning for cyber warfare.
    South Korea's senior officials held an emergency meeting to discuss how to deter possible cyber attacks in the near future.
    "Especially, there's some speculation that North Korea or its followers maybe engaged in this cyber terror, and the second, third cyber attacks can occur. Therefore, I think the government should establish overall cyber security measures for the national security," said Kwon Tae-shin, Chief of the Office of the Prime Minister.
    South Korea's defence ministry Web site was among those that remained down for a third day and access to some U.S. government sites, including the State and Defence Department, from South Korea appeared to have been disabled.
    However, the ministry said the website had been restored following the attack.
    "Against the current service curve attack, the Ministry of National Defence has installed defence mechanism and is blocking the attackers' traffic route. Also, the internet is normally operating now as we changed the Defence Ministry's domain address," said Won Tae-jae, a spokesman for the ministry.
    The impact of the attack is seen as largely symbolic and experts said it did not represent an actual security breach or damage to the online infrastructure of the world's most wired country.
    Ahnlab, the country's leading online security firm, is among those whose Web sites are still under attack. The site froze before fully loading while displaying a broken link to a "DDoS attack warning."
    "Now, a list of targets that the cyber terrorists have already attacked has been updated. In this list, we can see when attacks would begin and end. We can also assume through this file that the third attack will occur," said Cho Joobong, a senior researcher at Ahnlab.
    If the pattern follows, the next attack will occur at 6 p.m. Thursday local time (0900 GMT) and targeted sites would include banks, major portals and government offices, he said.
    Cho said it's difficult to know who is coordinating the attacks.
    "In fact, nobody can figure out the attacker at this moment. All the assumptions are not verified yet. These attackers are continuously updating lists and ordering followers to attack cyber space behind the scenes. So, nobody can say who is maneuvering all this," said Cho.
    If the North is responsible, it would mark an escalation in tensions already high from Pyongyang's nuclear test in May, a barrage of ballistic missiles in July and repeated taunts of long-time foes Seoul and Washington in its official media.
    Last month, the North warned of "high-tech war" against the South for spreading what it said was false information about its involvement in cyber attacks.
    But some analysts raised doubts about the North's involvement, saying it may instead be the work of industrial spies or pranksters.
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