North Korea’s Internet Secrecy Revealed: Only 28 Websites Uncovered

North Korea, a nation shrouded in mystery and secrecy, recently stirred global controversy by conducting another nuclear test. Given the stringent control over information in and out of the country, it has been nearly impossible to corroborate the veracity of its claims. Additionally, North Korea’s closely monitored Internet infrastructure remains largely confidential.

However, in a startling revelation occurred on Monday around 10 PM Pacific Time (about 6 AM in Lagos), a misconfiguration in North Korea’s domain name server (.kp) unintentionally gave the worldwide users access to .kp websites.

This unexpected digital misstep led to a discovery that would both confirm suspicions and stun the global community — the discovery of just 28 websites registered under the .kp domain. This surprising revelation was derived from users who were able to access the domain during the unexpected window of access.

Information regarding these websites was published by researcher Matthew Bryant, who shared the information on GitHub for the world to see.

While some of these websites are currently inaccessible or load slowly — possibly a result of officials trying to rectify the error — the revelation has provided a unique glance into the highly secret state of North Korean digital infrastructure.

Observers can’t help but wonder about the fate of the individual who was responsible for the mistake. Considering the reputation of North Korea’s leadership, this slip-up could potentially have serious ramifications.