Science body starts to strengthen cyber security after week-long attack

Erdinç Çelikkan – ANKARA

CİHAN photo

Turkey’s top science body has launched a comprehensive project to strengthen the country’s cyber security after a week-long cyberattack that targeted hundreds of thousands of Turkish websites.

A research and development project to assure the security of the infrastructure of critical servers was started by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), the top science body of the country, to develop more secure Internet infrastructure for critical sectors such as banking, energy, transportation, communication, water works and health.

TÜBİTAK will have a budget of 6 million Turkish Liras to operate the project that also aims to remove security breaches in Turkish servers. 

The infrastructure of critically important servers will be closely tracked by broadband systems expected to be developed as part of the project, including developing firewalls against international attacks.

The move came less than a week after a number of Turkish banks were subjected to cyberattacks on Dec. 24, 2015, and access to digital banking services was restricted.

Turkish Communication Minister Binali Yıldırım stated the cyberattack targeting the banks were similar to those against around 400,000 Turkish websites with the extension “.tr.” as the attack occurred after creating artificial online traffic.

The recent attacks come after a feud with Russia over Turkey’s downing of a Russian fighter jet on Nov. 24, allegedly for violating Turkish airspace. Pilot Oleg Peshkov was killed in the attack.

Russia has since started a war of words in addition to a number of economic sanctions targeting Turkey. 

Meanwhile, Anonymous has claimed a number of attacks against Turkey over the past two weeks, accusing Turkey of supporting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) by allegedly buying oil and hospitalizing their fighters.

Anonymous has also threatened to launch more cyberattacks unless Turkey ceases its purported support for the group.