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South Korea blames North Korea for last month's major cyberattack

South Korea blames North Korea for last month's major cyberattack

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north korea pyongyang ryugyong (Maxim Tupikov / Shutterstock.com)
north korea pyongyang ryugyong (Maxim Tupikov / Shutterstock.com)

South Korea has finally announced the results of its initial investigation into the massive malware attack that took down thousands of computers at banks and broadcasters in March, and the culprit won't come as a surprise to many. The AP reports that South Korea's internet security agency believes North Korean government agents hold ultimate responsibility, with six computers leveraging over 1,000 overseas IP addresses to carry out the attack — 13 of which have been traced back to the North. An official added that the attack, which appears to have been planned up to eight months in advance, bore similarity to prior North Korean operations.

No further details are available at this point, but the announcement is unlikely to help the escalating situation on the Korean peninsula. In recent developments, Japan and the US have confirmed that they are ready and prepared to shoot down any missiles fired in aggression from the North, as Pyongyang warned foreigners in South Korea to evacuate the country due to the possibility of war breaking out.