Turkey to increase security following cyberattacks

ANKARA – The Associated Press

A spokesman for Turkey’s president said the country would increase security following a spate of cyberattacks last week that affected government websites and some banks.

İbrahim Kalın, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, told reporters on Dec. 28 that authorities were investigating the source of the cyberattacks that disrupted access to government websites and online bank transactions.

The hacking collective known as Anonymous had threatened to attack in retaliation for the country’s alleged support for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group through the purchase of its oil - a claim Turkey vehemently denies. Others have suggested that the attacks may originate from Russia in response to Turkey’s downing of a Russian plane last month.

Kalın said the cyberattacks were “successfully repelled” and the attempt to cause chaos had failed.

Turkey experienced a cyberattack that started on Dec. 14, targeting nearly 400,000 websites with the extension “.tr.,” including both official websites of governmental bodies and private companies.