Science & Tech · Cybersecurity · 1 hr ago
Hackers expose personal data of 5,108 at South Korean university
Hackers accessed Pukyong National University’s tuition payment system in Busan, South Korea, and exposed personal data belonging to 5,106 students and two employees.
The university said an attacker exploited a security weakness to create an unauthorized administrator account between October 17 and 18.
Exposed student details included names, student numbers, departments, tuition amounts and virtual account numbers; resident registration numbers were not exposed, according to the university.
The university learned of the breach on October 20 after receiving a threat demanding money in connection with the stolen data.
It blocked the attacker’s account and reported the incident to government agencies and police, who were asked to investigate.
The university is working with the relevant agencies to identify the cause and prevent further harm, and it has warned students to verify suspicious payment or personal-data requests through official channels.
A cyberattack on Pukyong National University’s tuition payment system exposed personal information belonging to 5,108 students and employees.
The university said 5,106 students and two employees were affected.
Attackers exploited a security vulnerability to create an unauthorized administrator account and access the data.
The university said it learned of the breach after receiving a threat demanding money using the stolen information.
It said sensitive information such as resident registration numbers was not exposed.
- Who
- Pukyong National University students and employees were affected; the university said 5,106 students and two employees.
- What
- Hackers accessed the tuition payment system and exposed personal information.
- When
- The unauthorized access occurred from 12:57 p.m. on the 17th to 9:27 a.m. on the 18th. The university said it became aware of the breach on the 20th.
- Where
- Pukyong National University’s tuition payment system, Campus e-Moa, operated by Suhyup Bank.
- Why
- Attackers exploited a security vulnerability to access the data. The university said it learned of the breach after a money demand and threat.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Attackers exploited a security vulnerability to create an unauthorized administrator account and access personal information.
The university said it became aware of the incident after receiving a threat demanding money using the exposed information.
The university disclosed that 5,108 students and employees had been affected.
- People affected
- 5,108
- Students affected
- 5,106
- Employees affected
- 2
- System
- Campus e-Moa, Suhyup Bank’s tuition payment system
- Exposed student data
- Names, student numbers, departments, tuition payments and virtual account numbers
- Sensitive data
- The university said resident registration numbers were not exposed.
What people are saying
We take this personal information leak incident very seriously and will work with relevant agencies to thoroughly determine the cause and do our utmost to prevent harm and recurrence.