Week 2, 2025 security incident report
Hacking and data breach incidents newly reported 2025.01.06 ~ 01.12
Between 6 and 12 January 2025, service disruption in the gaming and esports sector stood out in South Korea, as DDoS attacks targeting League of Legends continued and renewed attacks led T1 players to temporarily suspend their personal streams. HiteJinro faced a ransomware attack and a possible personal data leak, while Samsung Electronics won a class action over a data leak. With 4 new incidents in South Korea and 50 overseas, personal data breaches were the most common type overall at 27, followed by 18 hacking/intrusion incidents, 7 ransomware incidents and 2 DDoS attacks. Overseas, the most prominent incident was the PowerSchool hack, which may have affected the information of 62 million pupils and 9.5 million teachers and caused knock-on damage to multiple school districts.
By type
- Data breach23
- Hacking & intrusion17
- Ransomware7
- DDoS2
Key incidents in South Korea
DDoS attacks on League of Legends continue
DDoS attacks targeting League of Legends continued into 2025. The effectiveness of Streamer Mode in addressing the attacks was later discussed.
Related reports: 2 · last report →HiteJinro ransomware attack raises possibility of personal data leak
The possibility of a personal data leak was raised in connection with a ransomware attack on HiteJinro. Whether personal data was actually leaked and the scale of the damage have not been confirmed.
Read on 보안뉴스 ↗T1 suspends players' personal streams as DDoS attacks recur
Impact: Temporary suspension of players' personal streams
As DDoS attacks recurred, T1 temporarily suspended its players' personal streams on 6 January 2025. After defences for the players' connections were strengthened, attackers even began targeting teammates playing in the same game during streams. The LCK said it would resolve the issue in the near future.
Read on 게임메카 ↗Samsung Electronics wins data breach class action
Samsung Electronics won a class action over a data breach. The timing of the incident, the scale of the breach and the method of attack have not been confirmed.
Read on Law.com ↗
Supply-chain breaches
PowerSchool hack leaks student and staff personal data
62mImpact: Leak of student and staff personal data; the attacker claimed to have stolen data on 62 million students
Education technology company PowerSchool was hacked, leaking personal data of students and staff at North American schools. The attacker claimed to have stolen data on 62 million students, and PowerSchool paid the hacker, but school districts were later hit with further extortion demands. A US university student involved in the case pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to federal prison.
Related reports: 105 · last report →
Also affected: 9- Walker County SchoolsWalker County Schools student information system data leaked
- Bozeman School DistrictBozeman School District pupils and teachers hit by PowerSchool data breachStudent and teacher data affected; scale unknown
- Union County Public SchoolsUnion County Public Schools hit by student information system breach
- Frederick County Public SchoolsFrederick County Public Schools affected by PowerSchool data breach
- Toronto District School BoardPowerSchool breach: 40 years of Toronto school board pupil data stolen40 years' worth of student data
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)CMS confirms impact from PowerSchool data breach
- Mercyhurst Preparatory SchoolPowerSchool cyber-attack may have exposed Mercyhurst school data
- Buford City SchoolsPowerSchool hack exposes Buford City Schools pupil and teacher dataStudent and teacher data
- Three international schools in SeoulPowerSchool hack exposes 15,666 personal data records at three Seoul international schools15,666 personal data records
Key incidents in other countries
PowerSchool hack leaks student and staff personal data
62mImpact: Leak of student and staff personal data; the attacker claimed to have stolen data on 62 million students
Education technology company PowerSchool was hacked, leaking personal data of students and staff at North American schools. The attacker claimed to have stolen data on 62 million students, and PowerSchool paid the hacker, but school districts were later hit with further extortion demands. A US university student involved in the case pleaded guilty and was later sentenced to federal prison.
Related reports: 105 · last report →Cyber-attack disrupts lectures at Dutch Eindhoven University of Technology
Impact: Disruption and suspension of lectures
Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands was hit by a cyber-attack that disrupted lectures. In a notice on 13 January 2025, the university said there would be no lectures on Tuesday either.
Related reports: 7 · last report →Rivers Casino Philadelphia customer data leaked
Impact: Customer data leaked; Pittsburgh customers also affected
A data breach occurred at Rivers Casino Philadelphia in late 2024. The casino contacted affected individuals, and Pittsburgh customers were also affected. A lawsuit was filed after the incident, and the casino's request to dismiss it was denied.
Related reports: 6 · last report →ICAO recruitment database hack affects around 12,000 people
12kImpact: Recruitment-related data of around 12,000 people
The International Civil Aviation Organization's recruitment database was hacked, affecting around 12,000 people. The organisation was investigating a possible leak on 6 January 2025, and confirmed the breach of its recruitment database on 8 January.
Related reports: 5 · last report →Breach of location data broker exposes location histories of millions of app users
Impact: Location histories of millions of app users
Hackers claimed to have breached a company that tracks and sells Americans' location data, and threatened to release the data. Location histories of millions of users of popular apps were later reported to have been exposed.
Related reports: 5 · last report →