ODTÜ rector refutes minister’s accusations over cyberattack

ANKARA

Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) rector Prof. Ahmet Acar has refuted claims by Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım over the recent cyberattack targeting websites with the extension “.tr,” saying the university took necessary measures during the cyberattack, which he defined as “one of the most intensive” attacks of its kind ever seen.

“I can easily say that international security measures have largely been taken,” Prof. Acar said, as the university immediately increased the number of servers to 11 during the attack with the most advanced technology.

He also said the university worked in cooperation with Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority’s (BTK) USOM coordination center during the cyberattack as well as its own staff at the university.
Prof. Acar noted the university was above the international standards in cybersecurity and had faced an intensive attack.

“This collective attack is one of the most intensive cyberattacks on earth up to the present,” Acar said, adding the cyberattack was a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on six servers with “.tr” extensions.

Prof. Acar also said these kinds of cyberattacks have become a political and commercial tool.

Yıldırım had previously said insufficient measures had been taken during the recent cyberattacks.

“ODTÜ manages the servers but it is a national security issue. Necessary measures should be taken against these kinds of attacks,” Yıldırım said, adding that the university refused to give the servers to Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), while also taking the issue to court.