ID :
198040
Fri, 07/29/2011 - 10:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/198040
The shortlink copeid
Set up special security measures for customers' personal information
SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- The personal information of about 35 million subscribers of two popular Internet sites were hacked in the worst online security breach in South Korea since a cyber attack on the Web site of Internet Auction Co., a local unit of eBay Inc., affected 18 million users in 2008.
SK Communications Co., the operator of Nate, the third largest Internet portal, and the biggest social network service Cyworld, said Thursday that its popular Web sites were hacked, compromising the private information of 35 million users.
SK Communications, an affiliate of South Korea's industrial giant SK Group, discovered on Tuesday that its Nate search engine and Cyworld Web site were hacked by malicious code, a company spokesman said.
The malicious code apparently stemmed from an Internet Protocol address located in China, but the company could not identify when the information was hacked and who was responsible for the online attack.
Personal information including names, passwords, mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses and resident registration numbers were leaked in the latest security breach, according to the company.
Although the company said there is little possibility that the registration numbers and passwords will be used by hackers as they are encrypted, other information such as e-mail address and mobile phone numbers could be used for voice phishing or spam mailing.
Nate.com is the third-most visited Web search engine in South Korea after Naver and Daum, with 33 million users as of early July. Cyworld is a popular online social networking site with 25 million users, about half of the South Korean population.
Recently, South Korea has fallen prey to frequent hacking cases and leaks of personal information. In April a computer server at Hyundai Capital Co. was hacked and the personal information of 1.75 million clients was leaked. Following the hacking at Hyundai Capital, the computer network of Nonghyup, a leading lender with about 30 million customers across the country, was shut down for a few days, inflicting direct and indirect losses to customers.
Experts say most of the hacking cases are due to companies' insufficient online security systems and portals' loose maintenance on online security.
Most companies are reluctant to invest in security systems that are not directly related to generating profits. There is a view that Hyundai Capital was unaware of the leak of its 1.75 million customers' personal information for two months because the company cut its budget for an IT security system.
To prevent the recurrence of similar incidents, relevant companies should make measures to drastically enhance their security standards by investing in advanced online security systems.
Police should thoroughly investigate the case to track down who is responsible for hacking SK.
The practice of portals requiring subscribers to submit their resident registration numbers to join the site should be replaced with another identification method.
SK Communications Co., the operator of Nate, the third largest Internet portal, and the biggest social network service Cyworld, said Thursday that its popular Web sites were hacked, compromising the private information of 35 million users.
SK Communications, an affiliate of South Korea's industrial giant SK Group, discovered on Tuesday that its Nate search engine and Cyworld Web site were hacked by malicious code, a company spokesman said.
The malicious code apparently stemmed from an Internet Protocol address located in China, but the company could not identify when the information was hacked and who was responsible for the online attack.
Personal information including names, passwords, mobile phone numbers, e-mail addresses and resident registration numbers were leaked in the latest security breach, according to the company.
Although the company said there is little possibility that the registration numbers and passwords will be used by hackers as they are encrypted, other information such as e-mail address and mobile phone numbers could be used for voice phishing or spam mailing.
Nate.com is the third-most visited Web search engine in South Korea after Naver and Daum, with 33 million users as of early July. Cyworld is a popular online social networking site with 25 million users, about half of the South Korean population.
Recently, South Korea has fallen prey to frequent hacking cases and leaks of personal information. In April a computer server at Hyundai Capital Co. was hacked and the personal information of 1.75 million clients was leaked. Following the hacking at Hyundai Capital, the computer network of Nonghyup, a leading lender with about 30 million customers across the country, was shut down for a few days, inflicting direct and indirect losses to customers.
Experts say most of the hacking cases are due to companies' insufficient online security systems and portals' loose maintenance on online security.
Most companies are reluctant to invest in security systems that are not directly related to generating profits. There is a view that Hyundai Capital was unaware of the leak of its 1.75 million customers' personal information for two months because the company cut its budget for an IT security system.
To prevent the recurrence of similar incidents, relevant companies should make measures to drastically enhance their security standards by investing in advanced online security systems.
Police should thoroughly investigate the case to track down who is responsible for hacking SK.
The practice of portals requiring subscribers to submit their resident registration numbers to join the site should be replaced with another identification method.
