SEOUL // South Korea said yesterday it had sourced a damaging cyber attack on its broadcasters and banks to an IP address in China, fuelling suspicions that North Korea may have been responsible.
Previous online attacks blamed on North Korea - including one last year on the computer network of the conservative JoongAng newspaper in Seoul - have also been tracked back to Chinese sources.
Internet security analysts in South Korea believe official North Korean hackers learnt many of their skills in China and operate from there.
The regulatory Korea Communications Commission, or KCC, said Wednesday's attack had used the Chinese IP address to access the targeted computer networks and generate malware that crashed their systems.
"The Chinese IP may trigger various assumptions," said Park Jae-moon, the KCC director of network policy.
"At this stage, we're still making our best efforts to trace the origin of attacks, keeping all kinds of possibilities open," Mr Park said.
The attack on Wednesday completely shut down the networks of TV broadcasters KBS, MBC and YTN, and halted financial services and crippled operations at three banks - Shinhan, NongHyup and Jeju.
Their networks were mostly back up and running yesterday, although a large number of individual computers were not operational.
"For geopolitical reasons, it's convenient for North Korea to use Chinese IP addresses for such attacks," said Choi Yun-seong, a security expert at the state-run Korea Information Technology Research Institute, or Kitri.
"However, domestic and foreign hackers can use them as well, so we cannot say for sure North Korea was behind this," Mr Choi said.
China, North Korea's main patron, which has angrily denied being behind a spate of cyber attacks on US interests, also stressed the IP address location was meaningless.
"We have pointed out many times that hacking attacks are a global problem," the foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.
"It is anonymous and transnational. By using other countries' IP addresses, hackers attack some countries' networks and this is a common practice," he said.
Wednesday's attack came days after North Korea accused South Korea and the US of being behind a "persistent and intensive" hacking assault that took a number of its official websites offline for nearly two days.
It also coincided with heightened military tensions on the Korean peninsula, following Pyongyang's nuclear test last month.
Why does a queen bee feast only on royal jelly?
Some facts about bees:
The queen bee eats only royal jelly, an extraordinary food created by worker bees so she lives much longer
The life cycle of a worker bee is from 40-60 days
A queen bee lives for 3-5 years
This allows her to lay millions of eggs and allows the continuity of the bee colony
About 20,000 honey bees and one queen populate each hive
Honey is packed with vital vitamins, minerals, enzymes, water and anti-oxidants.
Apart from honey, five other products are royal jelly, the special food bees feed their queen
Pollen is their protein source, a super food that is nutritious, rich in amino acids
Beewax is used to construct the combs. Due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial elements, it is used in skin treatments
Propolis, a resin-like material produced by bees is used to make hives. It has natural antibiotic qualities so works to sterilize hive, protects from disease, keeps their home free from germs. Also used to treat sores, infection, warts
Bee venom is used by bees to protect themselves. Has anti-inflammatory properties, sometimes used to relieve conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, nerve and muscle pain
Honey, royal jelly, pollen have health enhancing qualities
The other three products are used for therapeutic purposes
Is beekeeping dangerous?
As long as you deal with bees gently, you will be safe, says Mohammed Al Najeh, who has worked with bees since he was a boy.
“The biggest mistake people make is they panic when they see a bee. They are small but smart creatures. If you move your hand quickly to hit the bees, this is an aggressive action and bees will defend themselves. They can sense the adrenalin in our body. But if we are calm, they are move away.”
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Neil Thomson – THE BIO
Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.
Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.
Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.
Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.
Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.
Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
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