South Korea fingers North in June cyberattack
Malicious computer codes and an IP address point to North Korea as the source of the attack, according to South Korea.
South Korea has blamed its northern neighbor for launching a cyberattack last month on the anniversary of the start of the Korean War, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Officials from South Korea cited a few pieces of evidence to back up their claims.
"An IP address within North Korea's bandwidth was found," Chun Kilsoo, an official at the state-run Korea Internet and Security Agency, told a briefing, Reuters said.
Of course, IP addresses can easily be spoofed. In March, South Korea initially accused China of a cyberattack against banks and TV broadcasters by citing an IP address. But that address turned out to be a virtual one used internally by one of the banks hit by the attack. South Korea eventually ended up blaming North Korea for the March attack.
In last month's cyberattack, the malicious computer codes and the technique employed were similar to those used in prior attacks traced back to North Korea, the officials noted.
The attack, which marked the 63rd anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, targeted multiple government and private Web sites. At the time, a South Korean spokesman said that the attack mimicked past attempts by North Korea to hack into key Web sites. The spokesman pointed the finger at an espionage agency run by the North Korean military.
North Korea has consistently denied involvement in any cyberattacks launched against the South.