Week 46, 2023 security incident report
Hacking and data breach incidents newly reported 2023.11.13 ~ 11.19
Between 13 and 19 November 2023, the most prominent incident in South Korea was the illegal leak of 720,000 e-books in a hack of Aladin, and a hack of SmartBill, an electronic tax invoice solution, also resulted in a personal data leak. In total there were 2 new incidents in South Korea and 76 overseas; by type, personal data leaks were the most common at 43, followed by 23 hacking/intrusion cases and 12 ransomware cases. Overseas, data leaks and operational harm occurred at Henry Schein, the Kansas courts and Toyota Financial Services, and a knock-on pattern also emerged in which damage spread to other companies through Yanfeng, Avid Xchange, TSTT and McGraw Hill.
By type
- Data breach44
- Hacking & intrusion22
- Ransomware11
Key incidents in South Korea
Aladin hack leads to illegal leak of 720,000 e-books
Impact: 720,000 e-books
A hack of Aladin led to the illegal leak of 720,000 e-books. The publishing industry warned it would halt book supplies unless compensation was paid, and the e-book industry joined forces to respond to copyright infringement. In May 2024, the Korean Publishers Association and Aladin agreed on compensation, but criticism arose that authors had been excluded from the discussions.
Related reports: 5 · last report →Hack of e-tax invoice solution SmartBill leaks personal data
Personal data was leaked in a hack of SmartBill, an electronic tax invoice solution. The leak was reported on 13 November 2023.
Related reports: 2 →
Supply-chain breaches
Yanfeng cyber-attack disrupts Stellantis production
Impact: Disruption to Stellantis production
Auto parts supplier Yanfeng was hit by a cyber-attack that disrupted production at Stellantis. The ransomware group Qilin later claimed responsibility for the attack on Yanfeng.
Related reports: 2 · last report →
Also affected: 1- StellantisYanfeng cyber-attack disrupts Stellantis productionProduction disruption
Unauthorised access leads to AvidXchange data breach
A data breach caused by unauthorised access occurred at AvidXchange. The company notified consumers of the data breach.
Read on JD Supra ↗
TSTT cyber-attack exposes customer data, posted on dark web
Impact: Customer information and bank and credit card details
Trinidad and Tobago telecoms operator TSTT suffered a cyber-attack in October 2023 that led to unauthorised access to customer information, which was then posted on the dark web. TSTT isolated the affected systems and brought in outside experts. It later emerged that the intrusion used administrator credentials, and publication of the investigation report was put on hold following legal challenges.
Related reports: 16 · last report →
Also affected: 1Data of more than 90,000 users of McGraw Hill third-party supplier exposed
90kImpact: Information on more than 90,000 users of a third-party supplier
Information on more than 90,000 users of a McGraw Hill third-party supplier was exposed on a web forum. The date of the incident and the specific response measures have not been confirmed.
Read on www.vpnmentor.com ↗
Key incidents in other countries
Kansas courts cyber-attack exposes personal data of 150,000 people
150kImpact: Personal data of 150,000 people exposed, court systems shut down and background checks backlogged
Courts in the US state of Kansas were hit by a cyber-attack in October 2023 that shut down their systems and led to the theft of residents' sensitive information. Recovery progressed, but a backlog built up in background checks. A subsequent investigation found that the personal information of 150,000 people had been exposed.
Related reports: 10 · last report →Henry Schein cyber-attack leaks customer data and disrupts business
29kImpact: 29,000 people affected by the September cyber incident
Henry Schein suffered a leak of customer information in a cyber-attack in 2023. In November of that year it emerged that the company had been attacked twice by BlackCat ransomware, and in December it said 29,000 people had been affected by the September cyber incident. In October 2024, disclosure of a data breach related to the ransomware attack and a US$2.9 million settlement followed.
Related reports: 8 · last report →Toyota Financial Services breach exposes customer data
Impact: Customer personal and financial information
Toyota Financial Services was hit by a cyber-attack, and the Medusa ransomware group claimed to have stolen data from its German unit and threatened to publish it. Toyota confirmed the breach and worked on recovery. It later disclosed that customers' personal and financial information had been exposed.
Related reports: 6 · last report →Johnson Controls ransomware attack leads to data theft and costs
Impact: Data theft and related costs exceeding $27 million
Johnson Controls suffered a ransomware attack in which data was stolen, affecting its results reporting schedule and business performance. The company said in late January 2024 that the attack had cost $27 million, and the related costs were later reported to have exceeded that sum.
Related reports: 6 · last report →Samsung Electronics UK shop customers' personal data leaked
Impact: Personal information of UK store customers
The personal information of Samsung Electronics UK store customers was leaked. Hackers accessed customer data over the course of a year-long breach. Samsung Electronics notified affected customers of the leak.
Related reports: 6 · last report →