SEOUL – A fresh wave of cyber attacks that slowed US and South Korean websites this week hit more targets yesterday, a web security firm said, while the South’s spy agency has said the hacking may be linked to North Korea.
The impact of the attacks, aimed so far at dozens of sites including the White House and the South’s presidential office, was seen as negligible, experts said, but served as a reminder that Pyongyang has been planning for cyber warfare.
“The anticipated attack did take place, but considerable countermeasures were taken and it did act as a defence to some degree,” an official at the online security firm Ahnlab said.
Some South Korean government websites, including the defence ministry and the national intelligence service, were affected. Access to some US government sites, including the state and defense departments, from South Korea appeared to be disabled.
In Washington, US government officials said all federal websites were up and running and there was no impact from any new attacks yesterday.
The Pentagon said it had experienced an increase in cyber activity for about 24 to 48 hours after the July 4th holiday, but the upswing had no significant effect on operations.
The internet sites of some South Korean banks experienced a surge in access requests, but a bank official said programs were run to disperse traffic and bring service back within an hour.
If the North was responsible, it would mark an escalation in tension 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.
But some analysts questioned the North’s involvement, saying it could be the work of industrial spies or pranksters.
One online expert was quoted as telling a South Korean daily that tracking the spread of the malicious software showed it had originated from an IP address based in United States. The attacks saturated target websites with access requests generated by malicious software planted on personal computers. – (Reuters)