Dan Belhassen, founder of BinaryCanary.com understands the implications of recent attacks on US and South Korean websites. 

Last week's website attacks in the US and South Korea underscore the need for businesses to pay closer attention to the ongoing health and functionality of their websites. Among the US websites targeted in the recent attacks were The White House, the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq Stock Market and the Washington Post. South Korean targets included the Defense Ministry the President's residence and the National Assembly. BBC News reports that the attacks began on July 4th, American Independence Day.

"These attacks underscore the need for organizations to protect their online presence," says Belhassen. "Those attacks in the US and South Korea appear to have been politically motivated, but whether the problem is a virus or a system error, people need to know that their websites are operational."

Belhassen says that even if a website is up and running 99.9% of the time, that still leaves eight hours of downtime each year. "An organization's website is its global face and it dramatically affects your credibility and profitability if your website is down, not functional or hacked. Binary Canary alerts you when a problem is sensed - giving your staff immediate notification that they need to address the issue - hopefully before the public notices."

The attacks are reported to have slowed down and in some cases shut government websites down for several hours.

 

Links to news stories related to the attacks:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8139821.stm
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/nation/south/nat_ap_dc_federal_web_sites_knocked_out_by_cyber_attack_20090708653_2617479