SEOUL: North Korea has slammed Britain for accusing it of being behind a global ransomware attack that hit the National Health Service, calling the allegation a “wicked attempt” to further tighten international sanctions against Pyongyang.
A third of Britain’s public hospitals were affected by the WannaCry worm in May, according to a government report.
Up to 300,000 computers in 150 countries were hit by WannaCry, which seized systems and demanded payment in Bitcoin to return control to users.
Some researchers have pointed the finger at Pyongyang, saying that the code used was similar to past hacks blamed on Kim Jong-Un’s regime.
British Home Office minister Ben Wallace told the BBC last week that London was “as sure as possible” that North Korea was responsible.
But a spokesman for the North’s Korea-Europe Association denied the accusations and warned Britain against “groundless speculation.”
“This is an act beyond the limit of our tolerance and it makes us question the real purpose behind the UK’s move,” he said, in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency late Monday.
“The moves of the UK government to doggedly associate the DPRK with the cyberattack cannot be interpreted in any other way than a wicked attempt to lure the international community into harboring greater mistrust of the DPRK,” the spokesman said, using the initials of the North’s official name.
According to the South Korean government, the North has a 6,800-strong unit of trained cyberwarfare specialists. It has been accused of launching high-profile cyberattacks, including the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures.
Experts say the North appears to have stepped up cyberattacks in recent years in a bid to earn hard foreign currency in the face of tougher United Nations sanctions imposed over its nuclear and missile programs.
N. Korea denies involvement in WannaCry cyberattack
N. Korea denies involvement in WannaCry cyberattack
Kyrgyzstan parliament speaker resigns after spy chief sacking
- Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness
BISHKEK: Kyrgyzstan’s parliament speaker said Thursday he would step down, two days after President Sadyr Japarov dismissed the Central Asian country’s powerful secret service chief and arrested political figures who called for early elections.
In a surprise move, Japarov had sacked his one-time close ally — spy chief Kamchybek Tashiev — in a decision Bishkek said was meant to “prevent division in society.”
Japarov is seeking re-election next year in a country that was once a regional leader in terms of openness, though marked by political volatility.
Rights groups have accused him of authoritarian tendencies, as he seeks to assert his control and cast himself as a bringer of stability.
Speaker Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu — close to the sacked security boss — told MPs he would step down, insisting that he was not resigning under pressure.
“Reforms initiated by the president must be carried out. Political stability is indispensable,” he said.
Kyrgyzstan has in recent years been de-facto governed by the Japarov-Tashiev tandem.
Both came to power in the wake of the 2020 revolution — the third since Bishkek gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Several NGOs have in recent months denounced the deterioration of freedom of expression in Kyrgyzstan.
Japarov had unexpectedly sacked Tashiev and three of his deputies on Tuesday, also weakening the powers of the secret services.
Japarov rarely speaks publicly. His spokesman had said the decision was taken “in the interests of the state, with the aim of preventing divisions within society, including between government structures, and to strengthen unity.”
Tashiev was in Germany for health treatment when the sacking was announced and had said it was a “total surprise” to him.
The decision came the day after the publication of an open letter from 75 political figures and ex-officials calling to bring forward presidential elections — scheduled for January 2027.
Five of those who signed the letter — which criticized the economic situation in the country — were arrested Wednesday on charges of organizing mass riots.
