South Korea braces for North's cyberattacks

South Korea has stepped up cyberspace surveillance in preparation for a possible attack from North Korea amid the latter's threats of a nuclear war.
Seoul has issued the fourth highest level of cyberalert and has been conducting 24-hour monitoring of the state telecommunications network, Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing the Korea Communications Comission. Its cyberalert system consists of a five notch scale, with the third highest level issued when an attack is detected.

The move comes after North Korea threatened to launch unexpected provocations, including those in cyberspace, in response to a joint military drill held by Seoul and Washington, the report noted.

As part of the country's efforts to combat threats from the North, South Korean prime minister Chung Hong-won also visted Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) last week to encourage preparation for potential cyberattacks.

KCC also urged Internet users in Seoul to update their antivirus programs on their computers and report any irregularities to KISA.

In January, South Korea blamed North Korea for a cyberattack on two South Korean news sites, which paralyzed operations at a major newspaper last year. The police said the IP address of an overseas server was used in the hacking operation, and was identical to one used in previous cyberattacks by North Korea.