DDoS attacks during the October 2011 South Korean by-election

The DDoS attacks during the October 2011 South Korean by-election were allegedly two separate distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that occurred on October 26, 2011. The attacks, which took place during the October 2011 Seoul mayoral by-election, targeted the websites of the National Election Commission (NEC) and then-mayoral candidate Park Won-soon.[1] Investigators assert that the attacks were carried out in hopes of suppressing young voters, to the benefit of the Grand National Party.[2] An aide of Grand National Party legislator Choi Gu-sik was found responsible for the attacks.[3]

The attacks

The attacks consisted of two separate denial-of-service attacks against independent National Election Commission and mayoral candidate Park Won-soon, carried out with the help of a botnet of 200 infected computers.[3] The attacks were conducted during the morning, when citizens--particularly young voters looking to vote before work--would have been expected to look up polling station locations.[2] It has been theorized that the attacks were conducted in the belief that they may reduce voter turnout, to the benefit of the Grand National Party's candidate Na Kyung-won.[1] Police stated that the attack against the NEC lasted about two hours, specifically impacting the part of the website with information on polling locations;[4] Park Won-soon's website was attacked twice that day.[5][3]

The National Police Agency later revealed that an aide to Grand National Part lawmaker Choi Gu-sik, referred to in the media by only their surname "Gong," was responsible for the two attacks.[3][6] The National Police Agency later arrested Gong and four other associates.[7]

Some researchers, however, have questioned the official narrative. Doubts have been raised as to whether Gong had the technical expertise or resources to pull off the attack.[5] Others have pointed out that under a DDoS attack, it would be unusual for parts of a website to be offline while other are online, suggesting perhaps a technical failure instead.[4]

These events caused a collective panic amongst GNP members as they often denounce the online activities of South Korean progressives.[8]

Political impact

The exposure of his role in the attacks led to Choi Gu-sik officially resigning his position as a lawmaker,[9] along with several other members of the GNP.[2]

In the wake of the scandal, reformists in the conservative Grand National Party put pressure on core members of the party who were closely affiliated with the Lee Myung-bak government; this in turn led to Park Geun-hye being brought back into the spotlight to reorganize the GNP.[10]

Social impact

More than 30 university student associations made a joint statement calling for a thorough investigation of the attacks.[11]

See also

References
  1. Hyo-sik, Lee (2011-12-04). "Police widening probe into NEC website attack". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  2. Vaas, Lisa (2011-12-08). "Election-day cyber attack scandal rocks South Korea's ruling party". Naked Security. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  3. Kim, Eun-jung (2011-12-02). "Lawmaker's aide suspected of hacking into election Website". Yonhap News. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  4. "DDoS used to disrupt elections" (PDF). Network Security. December 2011.
  5. Leyden, John (7 Dec 2011). "Row over Korean election DDoS attack heats up". The Register. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
  6. Park (박), Yong-ju (용주) (2011-12-02). "박원순·선관위 홈피공격 목적·배후 논란". Yonhap News (in Korean). Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  7. Park (박), Yong-ju (용주); Lee Sang-hyeon (이상현) (2011-12-03). "`선관위 홈피 공격' 최구식의원 비서 구속". Yonhap News (in Korean). Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  8. Lee (이), Seung-hun (승훈) (2011-12-02). "한나라당 비상상황... 트위터 보기 겁난다". OhMyNews (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2014-01-02. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  9. Kim (김), Hyeon-seop (현섭) (2011-12-04). "'디도스 파문' 최구식 의원, 당직 사의 표명". Kuki News (in Korean). Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  10. Choi (최), Mun-seon (문선) (2011-12-10). "천막당사보다 더 독하게… 'MB와 선긋기' 카드 검토". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2011-12-09. Retrieved 2011-12-10.
  11. Na, Jeong-ju (2012-01-04). "Student councils call for thorough investigation into DDoS scandal". Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2012-01-08. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
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