Week 45, 2024 security incident report

DDoS attack knocks South Korea's court websites offline for about 2 hours

Impact: Court websites and case search function across the country paralysed for about 2 hours; temporary access disruption to the electronic litigation site

On 7 November 2024, the websites of courts across South Korea and their case search function were paralysed for about two hours by a DDoS attack, and the electronic litigation site also suffered temporary access problems. The websites were restored and the attacks subsided the following day, but the National Court Administration maintained its defensive posture. The National Court Administration tracked the attackers together with the National Intelligence Service and the National Office of Investigation.

DDoS attack disrupts access to Defence Ministry website

Impact: Access disruptions to the websites of the Ministry of National Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff

The Ministry of National Defense's website was hit by a DDoS attack that at times paralysed it or made access unstable, and access disruptions also occurred on the Joint Chiefs of Staff website. The ministry's website remained paralysed at 10.40am on 6 November, but it was later reported to be operating normally. The possibility that North Korea was behind the attack was raised, but the attacker has not been confirmed.

Personal data of 107,518 Weolbu members leaked

107.5kImpact: Personal information of 107,518 members

The personal information of 107,518 members of Weolbu was leaked in a hack. An investigation found that access controls were inadequate, including IP restrictions on access to an intermediate server and the password for a database administrator account. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) imposed a penalty surcharge of KRW 51.1 million and an administrative fine of KRW 2.7 million.

MBC reporter and three others referred to prosecutors over leak of Han Dong-hoon's personal data

Impact: Personal information of Han Dong-hoon

Four people, including an MBC reporter, were referred by police to prosecutors on charges of leaking Han Dong-hoon's personal information. The referral came 18 months after the complaint was filed.

Numerous Instagram accounts hacked

Numerous hacking incidents occurred on Instagram. The possibility that Meta could be liable for aiding and abetting was raised, while the specific extent of the damage and the attack method have not been confirmed.

Police refer KT to prosecutors over malware attacks on customer PCs

Impact: Malware attacks on customer PCs

Police referred KT as a corporation to prosecutors on hacking charges in connection with malware attacks on customer PCs. When the attacks occurred, the number of affected customers and any remediation have not been confirmed.

Pro-Russian hackers breach remote control systems including smart farms in South Korea

Impact: Breach of remote control systems in South Korea, including smart farms

A pro-Russian hacking group hacked remote control systems in South Korea, including smart farms. The specific victim organisations, scale of damage, intrusion method and response were not specified.

Wannabe Group reported for privacy violation amid phishing text concerns

Wannabe Group was reported for a privacy violation. Concerns were raised that victims who had suffered losses of hundreds of billions of won could face secondary harm from phishing text messages. The specific scale of the privacy violation, its date and the response were not specified.

China-backed hackers breach US telecoms, steal call and wiretap data

Impact: Nine US telecoms operators breached; call and wiretap-related information stolen

Chinese state-backed hackers breached US telecoms operators and stole call and wiretap-related information. Calls of senior politicians were among those targeted, and US authorities recommended using encrypted messaging apps. In late December 2024, the number of affected operators rose to nine, after authorities had earlier said the attacks were ongoing.

Nokia confirms leak of third-party app source code

Impact: Leak of third-party app source code

A hacker claimed to have stolen Nokia's internal data and source code and tried to sell the data for $20,000. After launching an investigation, Nokia said the leaked material was the source code of a third-party app and described the impact of the leak as very limited.

Schneider Electric data stolen in breach of internal development platform

Impact: Theft of data from internal platforms

Schneider Electric confirmed that hackers had accessed its internal project execution tracking platform and breached a development platform. The hackers stole data, and the hack and extortion followed a Lumma infostealer infection. The attack was reported to be the third cyber incident in 18 months.

Schneider Electric hack leaks 40GB of data

Impact: 40GB of data

Schneider Electric was hit by a cyber-attack in which data was stolen. The attack group Hellcat demanded a ransom, and in December 2024 it emerged that 40GB of data had been leaked on the dark web.

Possible lawsuit under review over OrthopedicsNY data breach

An investigation and review for potential litigation was conducted in connection with a data breach at OrthopedicsNY. The date of the breach, the extent of the damage, the cause and the organisation's response have not been confirmed.