A DDoS attack most often involves flooding websites with large amounts of data, rendering the targeted servers unusable by obstructing their communication with users’ computers. (Image courtesy of Pixabay)
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — Another hacker suspected of orchestrating a cyberattack on a major South Korean securities firm has been indicted on charges of disrupting the company’s computer network, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said the 39-year-old man, identified only by his surname Lee, is suspected of launching a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack that overwhelmed the website of Mirae Asset Securities Co., causing its services to be unavailable for 30 minutes on March 21, 2008.
Lee, together with his accomplice who was indicted in August, demanded 50 million won (US$41,500) in exchange for stopping the attack, but did not succeed in extorting the money, prosecutors said.
He is also suspected of extorting some 4.5 million won from other small and medium-sized businesses by launching similar cyberattacks.
The 39-year-old is also charged with infecting over 10,000 computers with malicious codes and opening an illegal gambling site in 2008.
Until 2011, when he returned to South Korea, Lee had been living abroad to escape investigation.
A DDoS attack most often involves flooding websites with large amounts of data, rendering the targeted servers unusable by obstructing their communication with users’ computers. The attacks generally involve multiple personal computers infected by a virus, allowing individual hackers to drive more traffic to the targeted site.
(Yonhap)
