South Korea fingers North in June cyberattack

Malicious computer codes and an IP address point to the North as the source of the attack, according to South Korea.

South Korea has blamed its Northern neighbor for launching a cyberattack last month on the anniversary of the start of the Korean War, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Officials from South Korea cited a few pieces of evidence to back up their claims.

"An IP address within North Korea's bandwidth was found," Chun Kilsoo, an official at the state-run Korea Internet and Security Agency, told a briefing, Reuters said.

Of course, IP addresses can easily be spoofed. In March, South Korea initially accused China of a cyberattack against banks and TV broadcasters by citing an IP address. But that address turned out to be a virtual one used internally by one of the banks hit by the attack. The South eventually ended up blaming the North for the March attack.

In last month's cyberattack, the malicious computer codes and the technique employed were similar to those used in prior attacks traced back to North Korea, the officials noted.

The attack, which marked the 63rd anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War, targeted multiple government and private Web sites. At the time, a South Korean spokesman said that the attack mimicked past attempts by North Korea to hack into key Web sites. The spokesman pointed the finger at an espionage agency run by the North Korean military.

North Korea has consistenly denied involvement in any cyberattacks launched against the South.

Apple to present at Black Hat conference for first time, talk about iOS' padlocks

Apple is taking a different, more cautious tack when it comes to security these days. That doesn't make it any less surprising that the company is planning to give a presentation at the Black Hat conference: the company will have someone on stage for the first time and won't just socialize in the corridors. When he takes to the podium on July 26th, platform security manager Dallas De Atley will go into detail regarding iOS' security measures in front of an audience used to finding a way around them. The company hasn't said whether that involves current or future technology; we suspect that Apple may be eager to show what iOS 6 brings to the table, however. If it all goes down like Black Hat general manager Trey Ford says it will, Apple may both open up a bit on security and set more of the agenda this week -- instead of letting conference goers set it themselves.