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Cyberattacks Disrupt Leading Korean Sites Cyberattacks Disrupt Leading Korean Sites
(about 9 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — Major government and news media Web sites in South and North Korea were shut down on Tuesday after anonymous hackers claimed to have attacked them on the 63rd anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War.SEOUL, South Korea — Major government and news media Web sites in South and North Korea were shut down on Tuesday after anonymous hackers claimed to have attacked them on the 63rd anniversary of the start of the 1950-53 Korean War.
It remained unclear who the hackers were and whether the attacks on North and South Korea came from the same sources. With the Web sites of its presidential office and at least one other government agency down, the South Korean government issued an alert on Tuesday warning the people against cyberattacks. In South Korea, the Web sites of the presidential office and at least one other government agency were down.
The Web sites belonging to North Korean institutions including Air Koryo, the main party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, the news agency Korean Central News Agency and several other entities were inaccessible on Tuesday. Among the Web sites inaccessible in North Korea were those belonging to Air Koryo; Rodong Sinmun, the main Communist Party newspaper; and the official Korean Central News Agency.
Neither North Korea nor South Korean officials commented on what may have caused the Internet disruptions in the isolated North, where only a handful of people use the Internet and all Web sites are tightly controlled by the state. It remained unclear on Tuesday if the two longtime rivals had attacked each other, or whether the attacks were the work of third parties, perhaps proponents of Internet freedom who criticize both countries. The two governments have denied involvement in previous cyberattacks.
But people who have claimed themselves to be a global network of hackers called “Anonymous” have warned through Twitter that they would attack North Korean Web sites on Tuesday. Among other things, they criticized North Korea for keeping most of its people off the Internet. Neither North Korea nor South Korean officials commented on what may have caused the Internet disruptions in the isolated North, where the government allows relatively few people to use the Internet and all Web sites are tightly controlled by the state.
But people who have claimed to be a loose global network of hackers called Anonymous had warned through Twitter that they would attack North Korean Web sites on Tuesday. They have criticized North Korea in the past for keeping most of its people off the Internet.
South Korean officials said they were investigating who was behind the hacking attacks on their Web sites. According to the national news agency Yonhap, when the attack began on Tuesday, the Web site of the presidential Blue House was splashed with a large hacker’s message that said in Korean: “Hurrahs to Kim Jong-un, the president of a unified Korea!” Mr. Kim is the leader of North Korea.South Korean officials said they were investigating who was behind the hacking attacks on their Web sites. According to the national news agency Yonhap, when the attack began on Tuesday, the Web site of the presidential Blue House was splashed with a large hacker’s message that said in Korean: “Hurrahs to Kim Jong-un, the president of a unified Korea!” Mr. Kim is the leader of North Korea.
Yonhap also cited Twitter users who claimed responsibility for the attacks in South Korea as demanding that the South’s government stop censoring Internet content and that its intelligence agency apologize for a recent political scandal in which government intelligence agents were accused of engaging in an online campaign to attack opposition candidates ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election. Yonhap cited Twitter users who claimed responsibility for the attacks in South Korea, saying they demanded that the South’s government stop censoring Internet content. The South has long censored content for postings that it believes support North Korea, but international groups that fight censorship have more recently accused the government of cracking down on political critics.
The two Koreas have accused each other of hacking attacks at their respective Web sites in recent years. The Twitter users also sought an apology for a recent political scandal in which government intelligence agents are accused of engaging in an online campaign to attack opposition candidates before the Dec. 19 presidential election.
In March, a series of cyberattacks paralyzed the computer networks of three broadcasters and three banks, as well as several government Web sites in South Korea. The South officially blamed North Korea in April for the attacks. The two Koreas have accused each other of hacking attacks on their respective Web sites in recent years.
South Korea is one of the world’s most wired societies. Calls have increased in recent years for better protection against cyberattacks from the North, which South Korean officials said have trained an army of cyberwarriors. In March in South Korea, a series of cyberattacks paralyzed the computer networks of three broadcasters and three banks, as well as several government Web sites. The South officially blamed North Korea in April for the attacks.
Before the March attacks, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service had suspected North Korea’s involvement in at least six earlier hacking attacks reported in South Korea since 2008, including the huge disruptions that crashed South Korean government Web sites in 2009 and 2011. South Korea is one of the world’s most wired societies. Calls have increased in recent years for better protection against cyberattacks from the North, which South Korean officials said has trained an army of cyberwarriors.
Meanwhile, North Korea blamed South Korea and the United States for cyberattacks in March that temporarily disabled Internet access and Web sites in North Korea. Before the March attacks, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service had suspected North Korea’s involvement in at least six earlier hacking attacks reported in South Korea since 2008, including huge disruptions that crashed South Korean government Web sites in 2009 and 2011.
Meanwhile, North Korea blamed South Korea and the United States for cyberattacks in March that temporarily disabled Internet access and Web sites in the North.