North Korea opens up a second internet connection enabled by Russia

Source: The Age

October 3 2017 - 12:04PM

Singapore: North Korea has opened a second internet connection with the outside world, this time via Russia, a move cyber security experts said could give Pyongyang greater capability to conduct cyber attacks.

North Korea has been blamed by Western governments for several major cyber attacks in recent years, including against banks Sony Pictures and South Korean banks, as well as the WannaCry ransomware attack that froze computers unless their owners sent cash. Pyongyang has denied any involvement.

Dyn Research, which monitors international internet traffic flows, said it had seen Russian telecommunications company TransTeleCom routing North Korean traffic since Sunday.

Previously traffic was handled via China Unicom under a deal dating back to 2010. TransTeleCom now appears to be handling roughly 60 per cent of North Korean internet traffic, while Unicom transmits the remaining 40 per cent or so, Dyn said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/north-korea-opens-up-a-second-internet-connection-enabled-by-russia-20171003-gyt7hx.html