By John Q. Hosedrinker 
A significant internet outage affected North Korea for approximately nine hours on Saturday morning, beginning around 2-3 a.m. KST. The disruption, described as a “major” event, disconnected the country from the global internet, impacting official news dissemination and email services. The root cause remains unclear, but the failure of North Korea’s DNS servers is implicated. Experts suggest an internal issue is the most likely explanation, rather than an external attack.
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North Korea’s internet experiencing a nine-hour outage is a fascinating event, sparking a flurry of speculation and humor. The initial reaction from many was disbelief; the common perception of North Korea often paints a picture of limited or nonexistent internet access. However, the reality is far more nuanced. While the average citizen’s access is undoubtedly restricted, the country possesses a sophisticated, albeit secretive, state-level internet presence. This is evidenced by the involvement of North Korean state-sponsored hackers in some of the world’s largest cryptocurrency heists. Their cyber capabilities clearly extend beyond the rudimentary understanding many hold.
The nine-hour outage itself prompts intriguing questions. The simplicity of solutions like “power cycling the router” or even a temporary disconnection for a high-level phone call are amusing possibilities, but they sidestep the implication of a sophisticated cyber infrastructure. The outage could have been the result of a deliberate act, perhaps a cyberattack targeting North Korea’s infrastructure. Alternatively, it might have been a preemptive measure, a shutdown to contain a breach or prevent further damage from a successful hack.
The idea that a sophisticated state actor would be vulnerable to a simple DDoS attack, though entertaining, seems unlikely. The scale of the North Korean cyber operations involved in international cryptocurrency heists points toward a more robust and resilient system than one susceptible to a simple distributed denial-of-service attack. This suggests the outage was probably not caused by external actors targeting their online infrastructure but rather something internal. Perhaps a critical security issue was discovered, necessitating a complete network shutdown while repairs were carried out.
Another compelling theory involves the possibility of internal damage control. If a significant hack was detected, shutting down the entire internet would be a drastic but effective way to limit the potential damage before a more thorough investigation could be launched. This would offer a way to assess the damage and repair the breaches without exposing the vulnerabilities to further exploitation. The swift restoration of service within nine hours further supports the possibility that the outage wasn’t a simple technical failure, but rather a well-coordinated response to a serious threat.
The humorous suggestions—ranging from Kim Jong-un’s gaming habits to a simple “modem disconnect”—highlight the stark contrast between the public image of North Korea and the reality of its clandestine online activities. The notion that the outage was as disruptive as a temporary Amish internet shutdown only further emphasizes the comparatively limited access the average North Korean has, underscoring how little impact the outage had on the general populace. Nine hours offline might, in fact, be more internet time than many citizens typically experience.
Considering the country’s documented involvement in international cybercrime and its apparent capabilities in that realm, the nine-hour outage is intriguing, highlighting the unknown aspects of North Korea’s digital infrastructure and its ability to swiftly resolve significant cyber incidents. This incident serves as a potent reminder that our understanding of North Korea’s technological capabilities is often incomplete and largely shaped by external perception and the regime’s own tight control over information. The mystery behind the outage remains, a testament to the secrecy surrounding the Hermit Kingdom’s digital landscape and the challenges in verifying information coming from such a closed-off environment. The event invites further speculation and investigation into the complexities of North Korea’s online presence, reminding us that the surface-level perception is often vastly different from the hidden realities at play.