SONY-CYBERSECURITY/NORTH KOREA North Korea suffers Internet outage amid U.S. hacking dispute

Record ID: 451752

  • Title: SONY-CYBERSECURITY/NORTH KOREA North Korea suffers Internet outage amid U.S. hacking dispute
  • Date: 23rd December 2014
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) DEAN OF KOREA UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL OF INFORMATION SECURITY, LIM JONG-IN, SAYING: "North Korea's internet network completely relies on China. Optical fiber cable is connected from Dangdong in China to Sinuiju in North Korea and that's why China's cooperation is necessary. In my expert opinion, I believe this is the United States taking revenge on North Korea because this happened just after the United States requested China's cooperation." CARS PASSING BY ELECTRONIC BOARD SHOWING NEWS HEADLINES AND READING (Korean): North Korean internet server totally crashed. Possible revenge attack by U.S. PEOPLE CROSSING STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) FORTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD SOUTH KOREAN RESIDENT HONG KYUNG-HAN SAYING: "People feel anxious and uneasy after watching the news (about recent cyber attacks). Our government needs to fully prepare for possible cyber attacks in the country." PEOPLE WALKING ON STREET (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) TWENTY-NINE-YEAR-OLD SOUTH KOREAN RESIDENT LEE EUN-JI SAYING: "I hope South Korea repairs its relationship with North Korea and prevents any future cyber attacks by North Korea." MORE OF PEOPLE WALKING NEWSSTAND STAND NEWSPAPERS PLACED ON STAND NEWSPAPER HEADLINES ON CYBER ATTACK ON NORTH KOREAN WEBSITES
  • Embargoed: 7th January 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACAP3DZ5YTGEGEMCLK8XHWV4QO
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL WHICH WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS EDITED KRT MATERIAL
    North Korea, at the center of a confrontation with the United States over the hacking of Sony Pictures, experienced a complete Internet outage for hours before links were restored on Tuesday (December 23).
    Major websites, including KCNA state news agency, the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper and the main external public relations company went down.
    A U.S. company that monitors Internet infrastructure said the reason for the outage was not known but could range from technological glitches to a hacking attack.
    Several U.S. officials close to the investigation of the recent hacking attack on Sony Pictures said Washington was not involved in any cyber action against Pyongyang.
    However, a South Korean expert said there's high possibility that the United States caused the internet outage.
    "North Korea's internet network completely relies on China. Optical fiber cable is connected from Dangdong in China to Sinuiju in North Korea and that's why China's cooperation is necessary. In my expert opinion, I believe this (cyber attack on North Korea) is the United States taking revenge on North Korea because this happened just after the United States requested China's cooperation," said Lim Jong-in, Dean of the Korea University Graduate School of Information Security in Seoul.
    The United States on Friday (December 19) blamed North Korea for the devastating cyber attack against Sony Pictures.
    President Barack Obama vowed to respond, "in a place and time and manner that we choose."
    The United States requested China's help last Thursday (December 18), asking it to shut down servers and routers used by North Korea that run through Chinese networks, senior administration officials told Reuters.
    China is seen as the nation with the most influence over Pyongyang.
    The U.S. government also asked China to identify any North Korean hackers operating in the country and, if found, send them back to the North. Washington wants China to send a strong message to Pyongyang that such acts will not be tolerated, the officials said.
    The fallback from the hacking is also being felt in South Korea, where residents have urged their government to be ready for similar cyber attacks.
    "People feel anxious and uneasy after watching the news (about recent cyber attacks). Our government needs to fully prepare for possible cyber attacks in the country," 41-year-old South Korean resident Hong Kyung-han said.
    "I hope South Korea repairs its relationship with North Korea and prevents any future cyber attacks by North Korea," said 29-year-old Lee Eun-ji.
    North Korea is one of the most isolated nations in the world, and the effects of the Internet outage there were not fully clear. Very few of its 24 million people have access to the Internet.
    The country has denied it was behind the cyber attack on Sony and has vowed to hit back against any U.S. retaliation, threatening the White House and the Pentagon.
    The hackers said they were incensed by a Sony comedy about a fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which the movie studio has now pulled from general release.
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