Pro-Russian Hacker Group Launches DDoS Attack on US Airports... Our Government Also Urges Security Measures

Ministry of Science and ICT and KISA Urge Strengthening of Domestic Security

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As hacking attacks by the pro-Russian hacker group 'Killnet' have intensified recently, our government has urged domestic companies and institutions to be cautious of attempted Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) requested on the 5th that domestic companies and institutions strengthen their security, stating that Killnet launched DDoS attacks targeting major U.S. airport websites, causing temporary disruptions.

On the same day (the 5th) at around 05:45 (Korean time), Killnet posted an attack message targeting major U.S. airports on their Telegram channel. They have been continuously conducting cyberattacks against major countries including the U.S., Japan, and European nations. Targets include the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Bulgarian government, U.S. airports, the U.S. election commission, the Japanese government, and Italian companies and institutions.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and KISA requested domestic companies and institutions to strengthen detection and monitoring of attempted DDoS attacks and prepare for emergency situations. They also disseminated the current status to key infrastructure, including Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) of domestic airlines, and requested enhancement of internal security monitoring.

They urged immediate security updates for major vulnerabilities posted on the BohoNara website's security notices. This includes prompt patching against OpenSSL security vulnerabilities rated as 'High' risk (based on the OpenSSL project standards), which could cause service access failures if exploited by attackers. OpenSSL is an open-source code library used for data encryption communication protocols. The related project risk levels are classified into four stages: Critical, High, Moderate, and Low.

For detailed information on countermeasures, you can visit the BohoNara website or request consultation by calling 118 without an area code.