Seoul: Computer networks at major South Korean banks and top TV broadcasters crashed simultaneously on Wednesday, paralysing bank machines across the country and prompting speculation of a cyber attack by North Korea. The state-run Korea Information Security Agency said that screens went blank at 2 PM local time (10.30 IST) and more than six hours later, some systems were still down.
Police and South Korean officials couldn't immediately determine responsibility, but some experts suspected a cyber attack orchestrated by Pyongyang. The rivals have exchanged threats amid joint US-South Korean military drills and in the wake of UN sanctions meant to punish North Korea over its nuclear test last month.
The latest network paralysis took place just days after North Korea accused South Korea and the US of staging a cyber attack that shut down its websites for two days last week. Loxley Pacific, the Thailand-based Internet service provider, confirmed the North Korean outage but did not say what caused it.
The South Korean shutdown did not affect government agencies or potential targets such as power plants or transportation systems, and there were no immediate reports that bank customers' records were compromised, but the disruption froze part of the country's commerce.
Some customers were unable to use the debit or credit cards that many rely on more than cash. At one Starbucks in downtown Seoul, customers were asked to pay for their coffee in cash, and lines formed outside disabled bank machines. Shinhan Bank, a major South Korean lender, reported a two-hour system shutdown today, including online banking and automated teller machines. It said networks later came back online and that banking was back to normal. Shinhan said no customer records or accounts were compromised.
Another big bank, Nonghyup, said its system eventually came back online. Officials didn't answer a call seeking details on the safety of customer records. Jeju Bank said some of its branches also reported network shutdowns. Broadcasters KBS and MBC said their computers went down at
2 PM, but officials said the shutdown did not affect daily TV broadcasts. Computers were still down more than five hours after the shutdown began, the news outlets said.
The YTN cable news channel also said the company's internal computer network was paralysed. Footage showed workers staring at blank computer screens. KBS employees said they watched helplessly as files stored on their computers began disappearing. Last year, North Korea threatened to attack several news companies, including KBC and MBC.
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