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North Korea's internet 'shut down' 1:05
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NORTH Korea is suffering a country-wide internet outage just days after US President Barack Obama warned of proportional response to the Sony hacking scandal.
- news.com.au
- 23 Dec 2014
- News
Obama discusses North Korea's hacking attack 1:13
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President Barack Obama, in a CNN interview, says he does not consider the cyber attack on Sony which the U.S. blames on North Korea an act of war. Mana Rabie reports.
- Reuters
- 22 Dec 2014
- News/World
Bold request ... the US wants North Korea to compensate Sony. Picture: AP Source: AP
NORTH Korea’s internet has reportedly been restored after suffering a country-wide outage just days after US President Barack Obama warned of ‘proportional response’ to the Sony hacking scandal.
One expert told ABC News that the country’s online access was done for a total of nine hours and 31 minutes.
It’s not immediately clear if the internet connectivity problems were an act of retribution for a major intrusion at Sony Pictures Entertainment that the FBI last week linked to North Korea.
Mr Obama on Friday said the U.S. government would respond but didn’t say how.
The White House declined to comment on Monday.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters that of the federal government responses, “some will be seen, some may not be seen.”
Sony cancelled the release of the film "The Interview” after a hacking scandal that exposed sensitive internal Sony communications, and threatened to attack theaters showing the movie. Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
Doug Madory, director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research, said the internet connectivity problems were discovered in the last 24 hours and got progressively worse to the point that “North Korea was totally down.”
The outage comes as the the United States urged North Korea to admit it ordered a cyber attack on the Hollywood studio Sony Pictures and to pay for the damage it had caused.
“If they want to help here they could admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages that they caused,” deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
Washington accuses Pyongyang of being behind the hack that led to the release of embarrassing company emails and caused Sony executives to halt the debut of the comedy action film The Interview.
Bold request ... the US wants North Korea to compensate Sony. Picture: AP Source: AP
The film about a fictional CIA plot to kill the country’s leader infuriated North Korea, although Pyongyang has repeatedly denied it was behind the cyber assault.
SONY TO RELEASE THE INTERVIEW ONLINE
Washington is “confident the North Korean government is responsible for this destructive attack,” Harf insisted.
The government of the hermit state also has a “long history of denying responsibility” for provocative actions, she added.
Asked about threats from Pyongyang to hit back if it is sanctioned over the Sony affair, Ms Harf said: “We do urge North Korea to exercise restraint, to refrain from further threatening actions at this time.”
US President Barack Obama, while saying the alleged hack was not an act of war, has promised an unspecified “proportionate” response.
Troublemakers ... James Franco, left, and Seth Rogen in a scene from the The Interview. Picture: AP Source: AP
Ms Harf said she could not comment on online reports that alleged North Korea’s limited internet connectivity had been sharply curtailed Monday, suggesting it was under attack.
The US administration is “discussing a range of options” in response to the Sony hacking, she said, stressing however that Washington would not outline publicly what moves it planned to take.
“As we implement our responses, some will be seen, some may not be seen,” she said.
Meanwhile, China condemned “cyber terrorism” after Mr Obama pledged to consider officially labelling North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism.
The Chinese foreign ministry statement on Monday came after Sunday talks between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his counterpart John Kerry and followed calls by Washington for China and other nations for help in deterring future attacks.
