Cyber attack ‘knocked out' US government websites
Reports claim that denial of service attacks knocked out or slowed government websites in the US and South Korea.

A computer attack that started on 4 July knocked out the websites of several US government agencies, according to reports.
The Associated Press (AP) said that officials inside and outside the government informed it that the Treasury Department, Secret Service, Federal Trade Commission and Transportation Department websites all went down at varying points over the weekend and the last few days.
AP said that US officials would not publicly discuss details of the incident, which was thought to be the result of a denial of service attack.
However, Amy Kudwa, spokeswoman for the Homeland Security Department, said that its US Computer Emergency Readiness Team issued notices to federal departments and partner organisations "advising them of steps to mitigate against such attacks."
There were also reports of denial of service attacks against South Korean government agencies that started yesterday.
According to Reuters, South Korea's Communications Commission said that the websites of the presidential office, defence ministry and national assembly were all crippled by harmful traffic.
South Korea's spy agency said that the attack was meticulously prepared, and suggested that it that it could be linked to North Korea.
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
-
US authorities take down prolific 'Rapper Bot' botnet
News The Rapper Bot botnet was responsible for a series of large-scale DDoS attacks on government agencies and tech companies. Now it's gone.
-
Microsoft’s botched August update batch first wiped SSDs, now it’s breaking PC resets and recoveries on Windows
News An out-of-band patch has been issued by Microsoft to fix a flaw introduced by its August update
-
‘Hugely significant’: Experts welcome UK government plans to back down in Apple encryption battle – but it’s not quite over yet
News Tulsi Gabbard, US director of national intelligence, has confirmed the UK plans to back down on plans that would see Apple forced to create a "back door" for authorities.
-
‘A huge national security risk’: Thousands of government laptops, tablets, and phones are missing and nowhere to be found
News A freedom of information disclosure shows more than 2,000 government-issued phones, tablets, and laptops have been lost or stolen, prompting huge cybersecurity concerns.
-
The UK cybersecurity sector is worth over £13 billion, but experts say there’s huge untapped potential if it can overcome these hurdles
Analysis A new report released by the DSIT revealed the UK’s cybersecurity sector generated £13.2 billion over the last year
-
"Thinly spread": Questions raised over UK government’s latest cyber funding scheme
The funding will go towards bolstering cyber skills, though some industry experts have questioned the size of the price tag
-
Threat of cyber attacks to national security compared to that of chemical weapons
News The UK government has raised the threat level posed by cyber attacks, deeming it greater on average than an event such as the Salisbury poisoning
-
2022 Public Sector Identity Index Report
Whitepaper UK Report
-
UK and Japan strike digital partnership to collaborate on IoT security, semiconductors
News The two countries are also set to align their approaches to digital regulation to make it easier for companies to operate in each nation
-
Defra's legacy software problem 'threatens' UK gov cyber security until 2030
News The department spends over two-thirds of its digital budget on maintaining the risky applications, with no plan in place for a fix within the decade