Yahoo – AFP,
October 5, 2017
 |
| The new internet connection to North Korea supplements the existing link provided by China Unicom (AFP Photo/Ed JONES) |
A
state-owned Russian company has opened up a second internet connection for
North Korea which could strengthen Pyongyang's cyber capabilities and undermine
US efforts to isolate the regime, security experts said.
The
activation of the new line from TransTeleCom was first detected Sunday by
analysts at Dyn Research, which monitors global internet connectivity.
The new
connection supplements the existing link provided by China Unicom, which has
almost exclusively routed North Korean internet traffic since 2010.
The
additional line gives Pyongyang "significantly more resilience against
attacks on their network infrastructure," said Bryce Boland, the chief
technology officer in the Asia-Pacific for cybersecurity firm FireEye.
The
Washington Post reported earlier that the US Cyber Command had carried out
attacks against hackers in North Korea aimed at cutting off their access to the
Internet.
The
operation ended Saturday, the report said.
North Korea
has a 6,800-strong unit of trained cyberwarfare specialists, according to
Seoul's defence ministry, and has been accused of launching high-profile
cyberattacks including the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures.
But with
only one internet provider to rely on, the regime has often found itself
vulnerable to external cyberattacks against its own network infrastructure.
North Korea
suffered several internet connection failures -- some which lasted for hours --
shortly after the Sony attack, which many suspected to be a US retaliation.
With the
alternate route from Russia, "the possibility of disconnecting North Korea
from the Internet just became much more difficult," Boland said.
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