The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- South Korea's net nirvana spawns good, bad and ugly results
- Islamist rivals in Egypt election stand-off
- Clashes erupt in Congo ahead of vote results
| South Korea's net nirvana spawns good, bad and ugly results Posted: 05 Dec 2011 08:46 PM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - On a single, dimly-lit floor in the towering central Seoul headquarters of Korea's National Police Agency, dozens of hard drives and mobile phones sit on shelves awaiting dissection.
Officials flit between cubicles, comparing notes, as above their heads massive LCD screens churn out graphs and charts for experts to interpret as all-clear signals or dire warnings. It may lack the chaos of a physical battlefield, but the agency's Cyber Terror Response Center is the front line in South Korea's growing struggle against computer and Internet-related crime. Established more than a decade ago, the response center now commands a network of 1,000 officials nationwide who monitor computer systems for viruses, hacking and related attacks and who conduct post-mortem investigations into those systems that have been compromised. In one of the world's most wired countries, the center has no shortage of work. South Korea, with its near-ubiquitous Internet access and lightning-fast broadband connections, was ranked by the United Nations Telecommunication Union recently as the world's most advanced nation in terms of information and communication technology usage. The country is also known as the home of such technology giants as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. Unfortunately, the country also holds less laudable titles. Data from U.S.-based Internet security research firm Team Cymru indicates South Korea is, by far, Asia-Pacific's leading host of peer-to-peer "botnets," compromised, Internet-connected computers typically used for illegal activities and usually without the owner's knowledge. Steve Santorelli, Team Cymru's director of global outreach, says this represents the downside of being "one of the most connected places on the planet." "Peer-to-peer based botnets are virtually impossible to kill...(the number in South Korea) is deeply disturbing," he said. Computer security firm Symantec ranked South Korea seventh worldwide in terms of malicious online activity last year, up two notches from 2009 and trailing only far larger China and India in Asia. "The cybercrime problem is constantly increasing," sighed Jung Suk-hwa, the Cyber Terror Response Center's soft-spoken investigation director. "Basically, Korea is a good place for it." CYBERCRIME EPIDEMIC A series of high-profile attacks this year have highlighted vulnerabilities in South Korea's cherished communications infrastructure and thrust cybercrime squarely into the public spotlight. In late November a hacking attack that targeted Korea-founded, Japan-based online gaming firm Nexon Co exposed the personal information of more than 13 million subscribers to one of its popular titles, casting a pall over its up to $1.3 billion (832 million pound) Tokyo IPO. That followed a data breach of record scope in July at Nate and Cyworld, popular social networking sites operated by SK Communications. The incident affected the accounts of some 35 million users, equivalent to around 70 percent of the country's entire population. In April hackers managed to access data on 23 percent of the 1.8 million customers of Hyundai Capital, a joint venture of GE Capital and Hyundai Motor. The Nexon and SK Communications cases are still being investigated with the trail in the latter leading to China, where most attacks against Korean firms appear to originate, according to Jung. Cybercrime has also rocked the political and national security spheres. Police are currently investigating a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that crippled the National Election Commission's website during October by-elections, which the opposition alleges was the work of ruling party officials. And authorities in South Korea have linked North Korea to a series of hacks affecting financial, government and military websites. Hacking and data theft have been issues for some time in South Korea's highly wired society, but "this is the first time we're seeing crimes of this magnitude," Jung says. The local operations of global firms have not been immune. An August attack on a hosting provider temporarily brought down the local website and online banking operations of HSBC, while the same month an intrusion into Epson's Korea website exposed the personal details of around 350,000 customers, according to a company spokesman. REAL NAME CONTROVERSY The spike in personal data leaks this year has fuelled the debate over the country's real name verification rules, which have been controversial since their introduction in 2005 in an attempt to moderate online discussions during election periods. These require websites with more than 100,000 visitors daily to collect the names and personal details of users before the users can upload content or post comments. By amassing private data, usually national resident registration numbers, on hundreds of thousands of people, South Korean websites create a tempting target for cybercriminals, says Park Kyung-sin, a professor of law at Korea University. While the real name rules do not specifically require companies to store personal data, according to Park they are left with little choice in practice. "If websites require identification each time people log on, people won't use them," Park said. "This makes it economically impractical for them to use one-time identification. The rules practically require the accumulation of personal data and also make it enormously profitable for companies to retain it." Politicians such as Kim Sung-hoon, head of the digital policy committee of Korea's ruling Grand National Party (GNP), have campaigned for real name verification to be revoked. In addition to restricting freedom of expression, the rules leave "no company safe at the moment, and we have to take fundamental action by abolishing them immediately," he said. The country's Internet regulator, the Korea Communications Commission, is sticking to its guns. The agency acknowledges "questions over the effectiveness and suitability" of the rules and is "investigating every single step toward their improvement," said Oh Jung-taek, chief of the KCC's Network Ethics Department. But real name verification is needed to discourage the online dissemination of defamatory remarks or rumours, particularly concerning North Korea, which "could give rise to serious trouble or social turmoil," Oh said. "Given the special situation we have, it's inappropriate to talk about revoking the rules just a few years after they were implemented." TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR HANDS With the rules unlikely to disappear anytime soon, many companies are developing their own responses. Epson Korea no longer collects resident registration numbers, the company spokesman said. Hyundai Capital has established a separate information security unit and now assigns more than 10 percent of its IT budget to security, according to spokeswoman Fiona Bae. Some companies have moved to bypass the rules altogether. Google, for example, has prevented users from uploading content or posting comments to the South Korean version of YouTube, stating that real name verification rules do not "fall in line with Google's principles." The fight against cybercrime has seen some successes. In October the suspected hacker in the Hyundai Capital incident was apprehended in the Philippines. Incidents of online harassment, illegal website operations and piracy have dropped sharply over the last couple of years. Authorities are trying to help companies shore up their online defences, with both the KCC and Cyber Terror Response Center offering information security training. The center also plans to boost manpower and cooperation with international authorities such as the Chinese police and Interpol, the National Police Agency's Jung says. But with the number of hacking cases continuing to climb, Jung admits agencies like his lack the resources to turn a rising tide. Critics of the real name requirements say their abolishment would do more to bolster the country's online security than any new software or hiring spree. "No matter how much we invest in security to prevent cybercrime, it'll make no economic sense," says the GNP's Kim. "We'd do better to revoke the real name rules." (Additional reporting by Seongbin Kang; Editing by David Chance and Matt Driskill) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| Islamist rivals in Egypt election stand-off Posted: 05 Dec 2011 03:50 PM PST CAIRO (Reuters) - Rival Islamists in Egypt's parliamentary election played up their differences in a first-round run-off vote, with the top-placed Muslim Brotherhood anxious to show a moderate face to Egyptians hungry for stability.
Hardline Salafis were the surprise runner-up in last week's opening stage, the biggest test of the public mood since street protests ended Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule in February. But during the run-offs that conclude on Tuesday, both the Salafis and the Brotherhood are sounding lukewarm on the chances of forming a dominant Islamist bloc if they repeat their early success in subsequent voting rounds ending on January 11. "There were attempts to unite but Salafis are very difficult," said Mohamed Hussein, 20, as he distributed leaflets for the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in front of a polling station in the port city of Alexandria. "We may agree on certain things but we are different in vision and strategy," he said. "It is easier for me to talk with a liberal or a socialist than a Salafi." The Salafi al-Nour's Party's leader Emad Abdel Ghaffour said the Brotherhood may try to paint the Salafis as troublemakers. "We hate being followers," he told Reuters. Army generals have ruled a restive Egypt for nine months promising a transition to democratic civilian rule. Mass protests and street clashes in the run-up to the parliamentary vote forced them to bring forward their departure date. The elected assembly, with its fresh popular mandate, will loom over the ruling military council until the army hands power to an elected president in mid-2012. Despite its early electoral success, the Brotherhood seems unlikely to seek a showdown with the generals. Egypt's oldest Islamist group renounced violence long ago and has tended to avoid confrontation in furthering its aims. Its chosen pitch for now is likely to be a new constitution that the new parliament will influence by appointing the assembly that will draft the document. ISLAMIST-LIBERAL ALLIANCE? Voting was slow in Cairo, Alexandria and Port Said as the run-offs began on Monday, in contrast to the crowds at polling stations last week. After the opening round, the FJP's party list won 36.6 percent of valid first-round votes, with al-Nour's list winning 24.4 percent and a liberal Egyptian Bloc on 13.4 percent. But one fifth of the FJP's list included a variety of smaller parties that included the liberal al-Ghad (Tomorrow) party and the left-leaning Karama (Dignity), a precedent for possible cooperation between the Brotherhood and liberals. Al-Nour - which wants to stop visitors wearing bikinis on the beach and ban alcohol, a death knell for tourism - quit an electoral alliance with the FJP before the vote, accusing the FJP of hogging too many seats on the list. The Brotherhood's rivals say it bent campaigning rules by lobbying for votes outside polling stations. The movement said its rivals should accept the result as the will of the people. Its early success was no surprise given its large network of activists and decades of grass-roots charity work. But the strong showing by Salafis was a shock for many liberal Muslims and for Coptic Christians, who make up a tenth of Egypt's 80-million population. "We still have high hopes that the silent majority in the coming two phases will go to the ballot boxes and we still rely on a comeback by the liberal wing," said Youssef Sidhom, editor-in-chief of Orthodox Coptic newspaper al-Watani. Even if the Brotherhood consolidates its first-round success, Sidhom said, its more moderate members may prevail. "They know they cannot honour the responsibility that has been bestowed upon them by the people by only preaching Islamic beliefs and a fundamentalist Islamic way of life," he said. Under a complex system, two-thirds of the 498 elected lower house seats go proportionately to party lists, with the rest going to individual candidates, who must win more than 50 percent of votes in the first round to avoid a run-off. Only four seats were won outright in the first round, leaving 52 to be decided in the run-off voting on Monday and Tuesday, 24 of them contested between the FJP and al-Nour. Other seats will be decided in later rounds. (Additional reporting by Tamim Elyan, Maha Dahan and Edmund Blair; Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Louise Ireland) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| Clashes erupt in Congo ahead of vote results Posted: 05 Dec 2011 03:48 PM PST KINSHASA (Reuters) - Clashes erupted between protesters and security forces in parts of Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday as diplomats scrambled to defuse tensions ahead of the country's full election results.
Police fired tear gas at opposition supporters in Kinshasa, and gunfire rang out in a city in West Kasai province, an opposition stronghold, after the government shut down a television and radio broadcaster. The U.N. mission in Congo led a delegation of diplomats to meet with incumbent President Joseph Kabila and his main rival, Etienne Tshisekedi, to ease tensions stretched by allegations the November 28 poll was mismanaged and fraudulent. Partial preliminary results released so far - representing about 68 percent of the ballots cast - showed Kabila with about 46 percent of the vote to Tshisekedi's 36 percent, but the opposition has said they would reject the outcome. Full preliminary results are expected as early as Tuesday. At least 18 people have been killed in election-related violence, according to Human Rights Watch, and a senior member of Kabila's camp said the government will have to call in the army if protests become "too chaotic." "We cannot let chaos prevail. If the situation becomes too chaotic for the police, we will definitely call for the army to come and help," Kikaya Bin Karubi, Congo's ambassador to Britain and a top official in Kabila's camp, told Reuters. The first locally organised and funded election since the official end of years of war in 2003 was meant to offer hope that the mineral-rich, crisis-riddled giant may stabilise. But fears are mounting a rejection of the results will pave the way for further bloodshed. ESCAPE BY BOAT A national mediation commission is in place and former Zambian President Rupiah Banda may be involved in further talks, sources said. The United Nations peacekeeping mission also led a delegation that included Russian and Gabonese ambassadors to meet with Kabila and Tshisekedi. Karubi said mediation was a "non-starter" as there was no current conflict, though a spokesman for Banda said he had been approached and was ready to travel to Congo. "He is just waiting for the U.N. to send a plane for him to travel. He has accepted to mediate," a spokesman for Banda told Reuters, asking not to be named. Tshisekedi enjoys broad support in Congo's sprawling capital Kinshasa, raising worries a Kabila win will spark unrest in the city of 10 million people. Sirens blared as police convoys pushed through Kinshasa traffic Monday afternoon, and women and children piled into boats along the Congo River to leave for Congo Republic on the other bank, fearing an outbreak of violence. "We decided to leave Kinshasa for Brazzaville to stay with family while we wait and see how things develop," said Paulette Pombo, a 43-year-old who sells drinks at a Kinshasa market. Police used teargas on a crowd of opposition supporters who had gathered near Tshisekedi's residence in Kinshasa, a witness and an opposition party official said. Gunfire also erupted in the city of Mbuji Mayi in West Kasai province after Tshisekedi supporters protested the closure of a local opposition television and radio station, provincial civil society leader Alexis Kasuasua said. Tshisekedi supporters had been attempting to block roads in the city and were being dispersed, Alphonse Kasanji, the governor of West Kasai, told Reuters. There were no reports of injuries from either incident. In Brussels, home to a large community of Congolese immigrants, police used water cannon to break up a crowd of Tshisekedi supporters, some of whom were burning trash in the street and shouting slogans. Scuffles were also reported outside Congolese embassies in South Africa and France. Congo's Catholic Church urged election authorities on Sunday to ensure published poll results were a true reflection of voters' intentions and warned that a dispute over the election could trigger major unrest. Congo's election commission defied all odds to hold the presidential and parliamentary poll last week. Often chaotic and at times violent, voting had to be stretched over three days due to delays in places. International observers have warned that the various steps of the counting process after the initial tally at polling stations have been poorly organised, with ballots and results sheets often being lost or destroyed in the process. Kabila's camp has said the president would accept defeat. But it accused the opposition of readying people for protests and said he will not tolerate any threats to his authority on the streets in the event of him winning. (Additional reporting by Chris Mfula in Lusaka, Mark John in Brussels, and Christion Tsoumou in Brazzaville; writing by Richard Valdmanis; editing by Philippa Fletcher) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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