Cyberattack alert in South Korea after president's website hacked
Intruder alert issued after official websites are disabled by cyberattack on anniversary of war
South Korea issued a cyberattack alert yesterday after hackers penetrated several official websites, including the presidential Blue House, on the anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War.
"The government can confirm a cyberattack by unidentified hackers that shut down several sites including the Blue House," the science ministry said.
It said the five-stage national cyberalert had been raised from level one to two.
News media websites and several government agencies, including the office for Government Policy Coordination and the ruling New Frontier Party, were also affected by what seemed to be a coordinated attack starting at 10.45 am. The Blue House website carried a message saying the site was "under maintenance".
The hacking coincided with the 63rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War on June 25, 1950. The ministry statement did not speculate on who might be responsible.
Investigations into several recent large-scale cyberassaults on South Korean media groups and financial institutions concluded that they originated in North Korea.