North Korean Internet Collapses

North Korea’s link to the Internet collapsed today, after first becoming unstable late Friday. The Internet monitors said the country’s networks are under duress, consistent with a distributed denial of service or DDoS attack on their routers, the New York Times reported.

The collapse of North Korean Internet came just days after President Obama pledged a proportional response to the recent attacks on Sony Pictures, which the U.S. has linked to North Korea. Although it was unclear if the U.S. was behind this DDoS attack against North Korea.

The loss of service will affect the country’s elites, state-run media channels and propaganda machine, as well as its cadre of cyberwarriors. Ordinary people have no access to the Internet.

A DDos attack is a form of cybervandalism, a term President Obama used to describe North Korea’s action against Sony. It is temporary, it probably would take hours not days, it imposes some cost, and in the case of North Korea it's limited to the country’s elite users.

File photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visiting his country’s Army Designing Institute in an undated photo released by North Korea (ABC News)

Iran Oil Ministry Denies Cyber Attack on Computer Network

Iran’s Oil Ministry on Saturday denied reports of a major cyber attack on the ministry’s computer network. Iran’s official news agency IRNA quoted Ahmad Tolayi, the ministry’s IT director, as saying the ministry’s website is down due to “technical problems with fiber optics connections.” (IRNA, 2 June)



Mehr, one of Iran’s semi-official news agencies, had reported earlier that hackers had launched an attack on Friday on the ministry’s website but had failed to penetrate into its computer network.

Iran Denies Role in Cyberattacks

Iran’s officials have denied any role in recent cyberattacks against Saudi Aramco and other oil companies in the Persian Gulf, as suggested by the U.S. officials, saying they would welcome a probe of the case. The devastating attacks against the oil companies were centered on a computer virus named “Shamoon.” The Iranians in turn are accusing the U.S. officials for spreading false and “politically motivated” allegations.

“We interpret the issue politically and in light of U.S. domestic issues as well as the (U.S. presidential) election,” said Mahdi Akhavan Bahabadi, secretary of the National Center of Cyberspace. (ISNA, 14 October)

Iran has not yet commented on the allegations of another set of cyberattacks by Iranian hackers against major U.S. banks.

Iran Hackers Responsible for Cyberattacks – U.S.

Panetta Warns U.S. Could Face ‘Cyber Pearl Harbor’

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Friday that there is a significant growth in cyber threat from Iran and that the U.S. is prepared to take action if America is threatened by a computer-based assault.

“Potential aggressors should be aware that the United States has the capacity to locate them and hold them accountable for actions that harm America and its interests,” Panetta said in a speech to the Business Executives for National Security, warning that U.S. could face “Cyber Pearl Harbor.” (NBC News, 12 October)

U.S officials have told NBC News that they believe Iran is behind the recent cyberattacks on U.S. banks, including massive distributed denial-of-service attacks on JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, US Bank, and Regions Bank of Capital One. The officials say the attacks are “significant and ongoing,” designed to cause “functional and significant damage” to U.S. financial institutions.

Meanwhile, U.S. authorities believe that Iranian-based hackers were responsible for cyberattacks on Saudi Arabia’s ARAMCO and other Persian Gulf oil companies, the NBC reported.

File photo: U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta speaking at a press conference at the Pentagon in September. (NBC News)