ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

State telecom regulator says China internet address was source of cyber attack on four TV networks and major bank. South Korea says an initial investigation shows a Chinese internet address was the source of a cyber attack on one of the companies shut down by computer crashes. South Korea's telecom regulator said on Thursday that a Chinese address created the malicious code in the server of one of the banks, Nonghyup, that crashed on Wednesday. Experts say hackers often launch attacks via computers in other countries in an attempt to keep their identities from being exposed. Such addresses can easily be manipulated and disguised. Regulators have distributed vaccine software to government offices, banks, hospitals and other institutions to prevent more outages. The source of the attack is not yet clear. But suspicion has quickly fallen on North Korea. Pyongyang has threatened Seoul with attack in recent days. Media hit South Korea's army raised its alert level after the cyber ...

Authorities arrest an Iranian, a Lebanese and 16 Saudis accused of being part of "foreign spy network". The Saudi authorities have arrested 18 suspected spies, including an Iranian and a Lebanese, on charges of espionage for a foreign country, the interior ministry said. "Sixteen Saudis, an Iranian and a Lebanese were arrested in co-ordinated and simultaneous operations in four regions of the kingdom," including the capital Riyadh and Mecca, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki told state television that the arrests were made four days ago and the suspects were being investigated before being handed over to judicial authorities. 'Case of espionage' "This is a case of espionage and those have been involved with a spy network working for a foreign country," Turki told state television. "They were gathering information about installations and vital areas in the country and providing intelli...

Rockets cause minor damage but no injuries in town of Sderot, Israeli police spokesman says. Two rockets fired from the Gaza Strip have hit southern Israel as US President Barack Obama was making his first official visit to the country in four years, police said. "One exploded in the backyard of a house in Sderot, causing damage and the second landed in a field," police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP news agency on Thursday, referring to a town very close to the Gaza border. As a presidential candidate in 2008, Obama visited Sderot, which is frequently targeted by rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack, which came as Obama was in Jerusalem. Obama was expected to travel to Ramallah on Thursday morning for talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. It was only the second such rocket attack since the end of a deadly eight-day confrontation between Israel and Hamas in November which ended with an Egypt...

Warning comes day after Pyongyang condemned training flights of nuclear-armed US bombers as "unpardonable provocation". North Korea has threatened to attack US military bases in Japan in response to the use of nuclear-armed US B-52 bombers in joint military drills with South Korea. The threat on Thursday came a day after Pyongyang condemned the B-52 flights as an "unpardonable provocation" and threatened military action if they continue. "The United States is advised not to forget that our precision target tools have within their range the Anderson Air Force base on Guam where the B-52 takes off, as well as the Japanese mainland where nuclear-powered submarines are deployed and the navy bases on Okinawa," the North Korean command spokesman was quoted by KCNA news agency. The Pentagon confirmed that B-52s, taking off from Andersen Air Force base in Guam, had flown over South Korea as part of annual joint exercises that Pyongyang insist are a rehearsal f...