Podcast: Cyberattacks not likely from North Korea

AVG chief research officer tells Larry Magid that attacks on U.S. and South Korean government sites are most likely from run-of-the-mill hackers. He worries more about China.

Larry Magid

Larry Magid is a technology journalist and an Internet safety advocate. He's been writing and speaking about Internet safety since he wrote Internet safety guide "Child Safety on the Information Highway" in 1994. He is co-director of ConnectSafely.org, founder of SafeKids.com and SafeTeens.com, and a board member of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Larry's technology analysis and commentary can be heard on CBS News and CBS affiliates, and read on CBSNews.com. He also writes a personal-tech column for the San Jose Mercury News. You can e-mail Larry.

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Larry Magid

Sept. 15, 2009 2:28 p.m. PT

Over the past few days government Web sites in the United States and South Korea have been under a denial-of-service attack, preventing visitors from accessing sites from the U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Trade Commission, as well as sites from several South Korean agencies including the Defense Ministry.

Some officials in South Korea have blamed North Korea, but Roger Thompson, chief research officer for Internet security firm AVG, says that it's more likely the work of run-of-the-mill hackers. In this eight-minute podcast, Thompson says he's far more worried about Chinese hackers.