North Korea accused over cyber attacks

Published on Sunday 6 March 2011 15:47

North Korea is responsible for the disruption of GPS signals in some parts of South Korea's capital region last week that caused malfunctions in mobile phones, officials said.

Communications officials could not say whether the North was behind separate cyber attacks on government websites, including that of the presidential Blue House and the Defence Ministry, since Friday that slowed or disabled them for hours.

If the North was responsible for either or both of the incidents, it could mark an escalation of tensions between the rivals already high from two attacks on South Korean territory last year and ensuing exchange of threats of war and retaliation.

North Korea was suspected of a massive wave of cyber attacks on US and South Korean government and corporate websites in 2009.

Signals intended to disrupt GPS and other wireless communications were detected originating in North Korea's border cities of Kaesong and Haeju on Friday, Yonhap news agency quoted military officials as saying.

The signals resulted in the disruption of some mobile phone functions that use GPS signals, such as network-based clocks, electronics devices used by artillery units in the South, and some equipment at commercial organisations.

The signal-scrambling may have been intended to disrupt the joint military drills by South Korean and US forces that run until 10 March, Yonhap said.

In a separate attack on personal computers, malicious software has been used in cyber attacks on some government agency websites since Friday, but no serious damage has been reported.

Telecommunications authorities and the police are working to determine the source of the software.