North Korea experienced a major internet outage on Saturday, cutting off the isolated nation from cyberspace for several hours. Researchers believe the outage was likely caused by internal factors rather than a cyberattack, as connections through China and Russia were affected. The outage disrupted access to government websites and official news services.
North Korea’s main official news outlets, its Foreign Ministry, and the national airline Air Koryo were among the websites that became inaccessible. These sites gradually started coming back online around midday, according to checks by Reuters. Junade Ali, a U.K.-based researcher who monitors North Korea’s internet, observed that the country’s entire internet infrastructure was not appearing on systems that monitor internet activities, also impacting email services.
“It’s hard to say if this is intentional or accidental — but it seems like this is internal rather than an attack,” Ali commented.
North Korean internet outage details
Officials at South Korea’s cyber terror response center, a unit that monitors North Korea’s cyber activities, were unavailable for comment.
Martyn Williams of the Washington-based Stimson Center, an expert on North Korea’s technology and infrastructure, also indicated that the cause seemed to be internal, considering the failure of Chinese and Russian connections. North Korea operates one of the world’s most strictly controlled internet systems, with the general public having access only to a state-run intranet that is not connected to the wider global network. An elite group within the government and leadership has open internet access, primarily serving propaganda purposes for outside audiences.
In the past, North Korea has experienced large internet outages believed to be caused by cyberattacks. The country is known for deploying elite hacker teams, including the notorious Lazarus group, accused of conducting attacks against foreign institutions and companies, as well as engaging in cryptocurrency theft and laundering. North Korea denies involvement in hacking, crypto thefts, and other cybercrimes.
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