Week 50, 2023 security incident report
Hacking and data breach incidents newly reported 2023.12.11 ~ 12.17
From December 11 to 17, 2023, four new incidents were recorded in South Korea, and the incident with the largest confirmed scale of damage was the leak of personal data of 38,209 users of a furniture manufacturing and sales website. Leaks or possible leaks were also raised concerning an elementary school notification messenger, an online shopping mall and applicant information at Korea National Open University, highlighting personal data exposure in the retail and education sectors. Across all incident types in South Korea and abroad, hacking/intrusion (19) and personal data leaks (14) predominated, and cascading damage from Dollar Tree to Family Dollar Stores, LLC was also confirmed. Overseas, the major incidents were the leak of about 1 TB of data, including game information, and employee personal data following a ransomware attack on Insomniac Games, disruptions to telecommunications and connected services caused by an attack on a Ukrainian telecom operator, and the theft of crypto assets through a supply chain attack on Ledger.
By type
- Hacking & intrusion18
- Data breach14
- Ransomware3
- Phishing & smishing1
Key incidents in South Korea
Data of 38,209 users leaked from furniture making and sales site
38.2KImpact: Personal information of 38,209 users
A furniture making and sales website was hit by an SQL injection attack that leaked the personal information of 38,209 users. An investigation by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) found inadequate checks and fixes for web security vulnerabilities such as input validation, as well as violations of breach notification and reporting obligations. The PIPC sanctioned two businesses for poor management of web security vulnerabilities.
Read on 보안뉴스 ↗Personal data leaked via notification messenger at Geulbit Elementary School in Suwon
A personal data leak occurred at Geulbit Elementary School in Suwon. The leaked personal information had been stored in a school notification messenger.
Read on 보안뉴스 ↗Suspected personal data of South Korean online mall 'M' leaked
Data believed to be personal information from a South Korean online shopping mall, Company M, was leaked on the dark web. Whether the data is actually Company M's personal information has not been confirmed.
Read on 보안뉴스 ↗Korea National Open University applicant data possibly leaked
Impact: Possible leak of five categories of applicants' personal information
Korea National Open University disclosed that applicants' personal information may have been leaked. Five categories of personal information may have been leaked.
Read on 보안뉴스 ↗
Supply-chain breaches
Dollar Tree employee data exposed in third-party vendor breach
2MImpact: Personal information of about 2 million people
In August 2023, a breach at a third-party HR vendor exposed the personal information of Dollar Tree and Family Dollar employees. The number affected was put at about 2 million. A former employee later filed a lawsuit, alleging that breach notifications had not been properly provided.
Related reports: 7 · last report →
Key incidents in other countries
Insomniac Games ransomware attack leaks employee and unreleased game data
Impact: About 1TB of data including game information, plus employees' personal information
Insomniac Games was hit by a ransomware attack in 2023, leaking employees' personal information and unreleased game materials including Wolverine. The attack group Rhysida demanded $2 million in exchange for not releasing the information, after which about 1TB of game information and other data was leaked. Sony launched an investigation, and Insomniac Games said it would continue developing Wolverine, then notified affected employees and took steps to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Related reports: 64 · last report →Hack of Ukraine's largest mobile operator disrupts telecoms and linked services
Impact: Massive phone and internet outages, plus disruption to banking services and air raid sirens
Ukraine's largest mobile operator suffered a cyberattack that caused massive disruptions to phone and internet connections. Banking services and air raid sirens were also affected, and the telecom outage continued into a second day. Hackers linked to Russian military and intelligence services claimed the attack, and it later emerged that they had been inside the network for months before the attack.
Related reports: 12 · last report →Cyberattack on Ukraine's Kyivstar knocks out telecom services
Impact: Telecom services disrupted, part of infrastructure damaged, revenue losses estimated at about $100 million
On December 12, 2023, Kyivstar, Ukraine's largest mobile operator, was hit by a cyberattack that disrupted telecom services and damaged part of its infrastructure. Parent company VEON announced on December 19 that services had been restored. Revenue losses from the attack were later estimated at about $100 million, and Ukraine began gathering evidence to prosecute the attackers.
Related reports: 11 · last report →Ledger Connect Kit supply chain attack drains user assets
Impact: Hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto assets
A supply chain attack targeting Ledger's Connect Kit led to the theft of users' crypto assets. The losses were reported to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Related reports: 8 · last report →British tabloid hacked Prince Harry's phone
Impact: Prince Harry's phone hacked over several years
A British tabloid hacked Prince Harry's phone over several years, starting when he was 19. In his lawsuit against Mirror Group, the court found that the hacking took place and ordered that Prince Harry be paid £140,000 in damages.
Related reports: 8 · last report →