There Are Signs That Someone Has Launched A Cyberattack Against North Korea
North Korea Tech is reporting, via Vox, that there are frequent outages on North Korea's internet network.
This chart from Dyn Research shows that North Korean websites are currently going through regular outages:
Dyn Research/North Korea Tech
Outages aren't definite proof that someone is trying to attack North Korea. The country's internet is only accessed by a handful of people, so it doesn't take much to force it offline. But the problem could be due to someone launching a cyberattack on the country.
Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research, said: "I haven’t seen such a steady beat of routing instability and outages in KP before. Usually there are isolated blips, not continuous connectivity problems. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently."
If North Korea is suffering from some kind of cyberattack, it's likely related to the Sony hack. A hacker group named Guardians of Peace took over the computer network of Sony Pictures, forcing it to cancel the release of "The Interview." The US government has formally placed the blame for that hack on North Korea, an allegation that the country has repeatedly denied.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/internet-outages-reported-in-north-korea-2014-12#ixzz3MecQKsW7
North Korea's internet appears to be under mass cyber attack
http://www.vox.com/2014/12/22/7433873/north-korea-internet-down
Updated by Max Fisher on December 22, 2014, 11:10 a.m. ET @Max_Fisher max@vox.com
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worst outages in recent memory, suggesting that the country may be enduring a mass cyber attack a few days after President Obama warned the US would launch a "proportional response" to North Korea's hack against Sony.
"I haven't seen such a steady beat of routing instability and outages in KP before," said Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at the cybsecurity firm Dyn Research, according to Martyn Williams of the excellent blog North Korea Tech. Madory explained, "Usually there are isolated blips, not continuous connectivity problems. I wouldn't be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently."
While it's entirely possible that this is due to run-of-the-mill maintenance or technical issues, it's hard to miss that the outage comes just days after President Obama condemned North Korea as responsible for the massive cyberattack against Sony and pledged a "proportional" US response.
The outage also comes as China is investigating the accusations against North Korea over the Sony hack. North Korea's internet access is wired through China, which gives China more or less direct control over North Korea's access to the outside world.
Yes, North Korea does have the internet. Very few citizens have access to it, it's slow, and the connection is shaky. But it allows North Korea's state media, its propagandists, and its vaunted cyberwarfare divisions a way to access the outside world, as well as ways for sympathetic Koreans in South Korea and Japan to link up with the Hermit Kingdom. The country is wired through China, North Korea's northern neighbor and sole ally.
Why could this be happening? Did the US launch a cyber attack against North Korea in retaliation for the Sony hack? On the one hand, the White House has reportedly ruled out any sort of "demonstration strike" cyber reprisal against North Korean internet targets. On the other, that does not necessarily rule out a possible American effort to simply disrupt or sever North Korea's connection to the outside internet, if only to block future attacks.
It's also possible that China is attempting to shut down North Korea's internet connections with the outside world, perhaps so as to avoid future North Korean attacks that would embarrass China. While China is North Korea's patron, it also typically seeks to tamp down the Hermit Kingdom's provocations, which Beijing rightly sees as bad for Chinese interests.
Vigilante hackers could also theoretically be responsible, perhaps in an attempt to punish North Korea for the Sony attack, although past efforts by groups such as Anonymous have been spectacular failures.
While it's possible that North Korea is preemptively closing off its own internet access, hoping to prevent or preempt any US reprisal attacks, that would not explain why connectivity occasionally pops back up, suggesting that either an outage or a deliberate attack is the cause.
South Korea's Nuclear Plant Operator Has Been Hacked
Screenshot/edition.cnn.comA nuclear plant in South Korea
See Also
REPORT: US Considers Putting North Korea Back On Terror List
The US Wants China's Help After The Sony Hack, But It's Complicated
North Korea Vows To Step Up Its Nuclear Program To Counter 'Hostile' US Policy
South Korea's nuclear plant operator has been breached, raising fears that North Korea could have targeted key pieces of infrastructure in its southern neighbor before employing similar attacks against the US.
Currently, South Korean authorities are claiming that only non-critical information about the plants have been leaked, The Guardian reports. The stolen information include personal data for approximately 10,000 employees, at least two reactor designs, and electricity flow charts.
So far, no blame has been placed on North Korea for the attack. However, the malware and code that was used in the nuclear plant hacks resemble code previously used by Pyongyang.
Lim Jong In, a cyber security expert who works with South Korea's military, told CNN that he believes that there could be a link between the attacks. The current round of hacking bears resemblance to both the Sony hack and a previous attack on South Korea's media, banks, and ATMs in 2013.
In a particularly ominous message on a hacking site, Lim told CNN that the group responsible for targeting the nuclear operator said, "if they don't stop the operation of the nuclear power plant, they will destroy it."
Screenshot/edition.cnn.comLim Jong In
According to Lim, the attack on the nuclear operator could indicate a pattern. First, North Korea carries out an attack on South Korea, before staging a more refined attack abroad against the US.
On Sunday, the hackers threatened further action on Thursday unless three power plants were shut down. Despite the serious nature of the hack, South Korea has sought to reassure its citizens.
“It is 100% impossible that a hacker can stop nuclear power plants by attacking them because the control monitoring system is totally independent and closed,” an official at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) told The Guardian.
KHNP is holding two days of drills against possible cyberattacks following the release of the nuclear plant information.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/south-koreas-nuclear-operator-was-hacked-2014-12#ixzz3Mecnp81Y
- DEC. 22, 2014, 12:19 PM
- 2,388
- 5
North Korea Tech is reporting, via Vox, that there are frequent outages on North Korea's internet network.
This chart from Dyn Research shows that North Korean websites are currently going through regular outages:
Outages aren't definite proof that someone is trying to attack North Korea. The country's internet is only accessed by a handful of people, so it doesn't take much to force it offline. But the problem could be due to someone launching a cyberattack on the country.
Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research, said: "I haven’t seen such a steady beat of routing instability and outages in KP before. Usually there are isolated blips, not continuous connectivity problems. I wouldn’t be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently."
If North Korea is suffering from some kind of cyberattack, it's likely related to the Sony hack. A hacker group named Guardians of Peace took over the computer network of Sony Pictures, forcing it to cancel the release of "The Interview." The US government has formally placed the blame for that hack on North Korea, an allegation that the country has repeatedly denied.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/internet-outages-reported-in-north-korea-2014-12#ixzz3MecQKsW7
North Korea's internet appears to be under mass cyber attack
http://www.vox.com/2014/12/22/7433873/north-korea-internet-down
Updated by Max Fisher on December 22, 2014, 11:10 a.m. ET @Max_Fisher max@vox.com
TWEET (1,029) SHARE (6,869) +
+
worst outages in recent memory, suggesting that the country may be enduring a mass cyber attack a few days after President Obama warned the US would launch a "proportional response" to North Korea's hack against Sony.
"I haven't seen such a steady beat of routing instability and outages in KP before," said Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at the cybsecurity firm Dyn Research, according to Martyn Williams of the excellent blog North Korea Tech. Madory explained, "Usually there are isolated blips, not continuous connectivity problems. I wouldn't be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently."
While it's entirely possible that this is due to run-of-the-mill maintenance or technical issues, it's hard to miss that the outage comes just days after President Obama condemned North Korea as responsible for the massive cyberattack against Sony and pledged a "proportional" US response.
The outage also comes as China is investigating the accusations against North Korea over the Sony hack. North Korea's internet access is wired through China, which gives China more or less direct control over North Korea's access to the outside world.
Yes, North Korea does have the internet. Very few citizens have access to it, it's slow, and the connection is shaky. But it allows North Korea's state media, its propagandists, and its vaunted cyberwarfare divisions a way to access the outside world, as well as ways for sympathetic Koreans in South Korea and Japan to link up with the Hermit Kingdom. The country is wired through China, North Korea's northern neighbor and sole ally.
Why could this be happening? Did the US launch a cyber attack against North Korea in retaliation for the Sony hack? On the one hand, the White House has reportedly ruled out any sort of "demonstration strike" cyber reprisal against North Korean internet targets. On the other, that does not necessarily rule out a possible American effort to simply disrupt or sever North Korea's connection to the outside internet, if only to block future attacks.
It's also possible that China is attempting to shut down North Korea's internet connections with the outside world, perhaps so as to avoid future North Korean attacks that would embarrass China. While China is North Korea's patron, it also typically seeks to tamp down the Hermit Kingdom's provocations, which Beijing rightly sees as bad for Chinese interests.
Vigilante hackers could also theoretically be responsible, perhaps in an attempt to punish North Korea for the Sony attack, although past efforts by groups such as Anonymous have been spectacular failures.
While it's possible that North Korea is preemptively closing off its own internet access, hoping to prevent or preempt any US reprisal attacks, that would not explain why connectivity occasionally pops back up, suggesting that either an outage or a deliberate attack is the cause.
South Korea's Nuclear Plant Operator Has Been Hacked
- DEC. 22, 2014, 11:38 AM
- 4,456
- 11
See Also
REPORT: US Considers Putting North Korea Back On Terror List
The US Wants China's Help After The Sony Hack, But It's Complicated
North Korea Vows To Step Up Its Nuclear Program To Counter 'Hostile' US Policy
South Korea's nuclear plant operator has been breached, raising fears that North Korea could have targeted key pieces of infrastructure in its southern neighbor before employing similar attacks against the US.
Currently, South Korean authorities are claiming that only non-critical information about the plants have been leaked, The Guardian reports. The stolen information include personal data for approximately 10,000 employees, at least two reactor designs, and electricity flow charts.
So far, no blame has been placed on North Korea for the attack. However, the malware and code that was used in the nuclear plant hacks resemble code previously used by Pyongyang.
Lim Jong In, a cyber security expert who works with South Korea's military, told CNN that he believes that there could be a link between the attacks. The current round of hacking bears resemblance to both the Sony hack and a previous attack on South Korea's media, banks, and ATMs in 2013.
In a particularly ominous message on a hacking site, Lim told CNN that the group responsible for targeting the nuclear operator said, "if they don't stop the operation of the nuclear power plant, they will destroy it."
According to Lim, the attack on the nuclear operator could indicate a pattern. First, North Korea carries out an attack on South Korea, before staging a more refined attack abroad against the US.
On Sunday, the hackers threatened further action on Thursday unless three power plants were shut down. Despite the serious nature of the hack, South Korea has sought to reassure its citizens.
“It is 100% impossible that a hacker can stop nuclear power plants by attacking them because the control monitoring system is totally independent and closed,” an official at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power (KHNP) told The Guardian.
KHNP is holding two days of drills against possible cyberattacks following the release of the nuclear plant information.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/south-koreas-nuclear-operator-was-hacked-2014-12#ixzz3Mecnp81Y
