SALON

Friday, Mar 22, 2013 12:58 PM UTC

South Korean cyberattack didn’t come from China

The IP address used in the attacks appears to have originated from one of South Korea's affected banks

By

Topics: GlobalPost, South Korea, Cyberattack, China, North Korea, Associated Press, , ,

South Korean cyberattack didn't come from China (Credit: AP/Ahn Young-joon)
This article originally appeared on GlobalPost.

Global Post China may not actually be the culprit behind a series of sweeping cyberattacks that hit South Korea this week, investigators announced on Friday.

The IP address used in the incident was thought to have originated in China, the regulatory Korea Communications Commission told Agence France-Presse,but in fact appears to have been an internal IP address at one of the affected banks.

“We’re still tracking some dubious IP addresses which are suspected of being based abroad,” said Korea Internet and Security vice president Lee Jae-Il to AFP.

“Keeping all kinds of possibilities open, we’re making efforts to track down the hackers,” he added.

The IP address used at the bank appears to have been an accidental match to a Chinese address, noted the Associated Press, which added that investigators still believe the attack originated from abroad.

“We were careless in our efforts to double-check and triple-check,” said Korean Communications Commission official Lee Seung-won to media. “We will now make announcements only if our evidence is certain.”

South Korea initially accused North Koreans based within China of possibly orchestrating the attacks, which affected banks, television networks, and other infrastructure.

About 32,000 computers were affected and it was suspected it would take up to five days to restore functioning, noted Reuters, although efforts to return things to normal are going well.

More Faine Greenwood.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
    Credit: AP/LM Otero

  • Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
    Credit: AP/Matt Rourke

  • A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
    Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher

  • Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
    Credit: AP/Molly Riley

  • Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
    Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite

  • Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
    Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

  • O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
    Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid

  • Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
    Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield

  • When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
    Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin

  • A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
    Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 1 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

Salon is proud to feature content from GlobalPost, an awarding-winning international news site that focuses on original reporting from journalists stationed around the world. GlobalPost combines traditional journalistic values with the power of new media to offer a fresh perspective on global developments.

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: Chekhov's story mirrors Russia's own

Recommendations