Corporate cybersecurity threats exceed 7,000 cases in past 6 years in S. Korea

Seoul, Sep 21 (IANS) Over 7,000 cases of data breaches have been reported by companies in South Korea over the past six years, data showed on Sunday, raising concerns over the country's cybersecurity amid a recent string of hacking attacks against telecom and financial firms.

A total of 7,198 cases of cybersecurity threats were filed with authorities between 2020 and last Sunday, according to data submitted to Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the ruling Democratic Party.

The number of cases stood at 603 in 2020 and climbed slightly to 640 in 2021 before nearly doubling to 1,142 in 2022, reports Yonhap news agency.

In 2023, a total of 1,277 cases were reported, followed by 1,887 in 2024 and 1,649 so far this year.

Small and medium-sized firms reported 5,907 such cases, accounting for 82 percent of the total, followed by mid-sized firms at 592 cases, and conglomerates at 242 cases. Nonprofit organisations also reported 457 cases, according to the data.

Most of the cases involved system hacking, which stood at 4,354 cases, or 60.5 percent of the total, while malware infections and distributions accounted for 20.9 percent, and DDoS attacks stood at 18.6 percent.

In detail, the number of system hacking incidents stood at 250 in 2020, accounting for 41.4 percent of the total that year, but the figure surged to 72.8 percent last year, and 61.3 percent so far this year, the same data showed.

Meanwhile, a recent mobile payment breach at KT Corp. has affected a broader area than initially reported, expanding beyond the previously identified regions of southwestern Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province, a report submitted by the firm to a lawmaker showed on Sunday.

The newly identified areas include southern parts of Seoul, as well as Goyang, northwest of the capital, Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the ruling Democratic Party said, citing the report filed by KT.

On Thursday, South Korea's second-largest mobile carrier said the number of victims had reached 362, up from its initial report of 278.

"It would have been helpful for the investigation if KT had released detailed information on the location and time of the breaches quickly. I cannot understand why KT is releasing the information little by little," Hwang said.

—IANS

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