North Korea Not Involved in July 4, 2009 Computer Hacks

According to the cyber security specialists, the US officials think that the PC hack in July of last year (2009), which disabled the government websites of South Korea and USA, did not originate from North Korea, as reported by Associated Press on July 5, 2010.

The botnet traffic had targeted nearly 48 South Korean and US websites in July 2009. Some of these were the Federal Trade Commission, the Treasury Department, the Secret Service as well as the Foreign and Defense ministries of South Korea. Moreover, these websites were affected with either denial-of-service (DOS) conditions or defacement.

Nobody had any idea as to who was behind them. However, rumors spread that it were the North Koreans who most possibly acted as the sponsors. This speculation is partially because of the organization level was necessary for such a massively sized assault. Moreover, the malware script utilized in the assault was crafted in Korean language.

Security researchers after the investigations state that the attacks of July 4, 2009 might have had a political motive. According to these experts, South Korean activists, who fear attacks from North Korea and seek opportunities to raise hostility against their neighbor, are the suspects.

Commenting on the threats, Don Jackson, Director of Threat Intelligence for SecureWorks (an Atlanta-based computer security consulting firm) stated that it was just undetectable as to who were behind them. In his opinion, the perpetrators launched the attacks so well and handled them so precisely that it suggested of someone who had clearly great knowledge in executing attacks of such kinds, as reported by Associated Press on July 5, 2010.

According to many security industry professionals, such DOS threats are currently very common online. They represent crude means of damage and which a state against a different country or a group against an organization carries out, the professionals explain.

During the analysis of the attacks' aftermath, Bruce Schneier (a famous security blogger) stated that each of such global incidents only revealed that it was politics which kids were playing, as reported by Techworld on July 5, 2010.

Related article: North Korea Attacked South Korean Army Colonel With Spyware

» SPAMfighter News - 7/15/2010