By Na Jeong-ju
Police said Wednesday they have taken into custody one of the key suspects in the hacking of Hyundai Capital's consumer database last year.
The 39-year-old man, surnamed Shin, was arrested in the Philippines and extradited to Korea on Dec. 14, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said.
Shin allegedly broke into the firm's computer servers more than 43,000 times between February and April in 2011 and stole personal information of nearly 1.75 million customers.
The hacker is also suspected of having stolen consumer information from Daum, a major portal site, and Mr. Pizza after attacking their databases.
Shin and two accomplices received some 100 million won ($93,200) from Hyundai Capital after blackmailing the firm by threatening to release the confidential information.
One of the two accomplices is still at large, police said.
Shin fled to the Philippines in 2007 to escape investigation and lived there until he was apprehended by Filipino police.
He told investigators that it took only 90 minutes for him to break into Hyundai Capital's computer system and steal information.
"He said he learned how to hack servers on the Internet and through books," said an officer from the SMPA's cyber crime investigation unit.
After stealing the information on April 7, they demanded 500 million won from the firm in return for not releasing it. Later that day, Hyundai reported the case to the police, and the following day the firm transferred 100 million won to the accounts specified by the hackers in order to help police catch them.
However, only one of the suspects was caught while withdrawing money from a cash machine.
According to Hyundai Capital, the hackers stole the account numbers and passwords of some 13,000 clients as well as personal information, such as names, mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses, of more than 1.7 million customers.
They sold the information to a loan firm owner last year for 22 million won. The owner was arrested later for buying the information.
"The hackers plotted the crime in the Philippines in December in 2010," the SMPA officer said. "They believed they could earn a lot of money by hacking the databases of large companies and blackmailing them."
인터넷 통해 독학으로 해킹기술 습득
서울지방경찰청 사이버범죄수사대는 현대캐피탈 서버를 해킹해 개인정보를 빼돌린 혐의(정보통신망 이용촉진 및 정보보호 등에 관한 법률 등 위반)로 해커 신모(39)씨를 구속했다고 24일 밝혔다.
신씨는 경찰과 인터폴의 공조 수사 끝에 필리핀 바탕가스시(市) 부근에서 현지 경찰에 검거됐으며 지난 14일 국내로 신병이 인도됐다.
경찰에 따르면 신씨는 허모(41ㆍ징역 2년 선고)씨 등과 공모해 지난해 2~4월 총 4만3천376차례에 걸쳐 현대캐피탈 서버에 침입, 고객 175만여명의 개인정보를 빼돌리고 현대캐피탈을 협박해 1천만원을 뜯어낸 혐의를 받고 있다.
다른 해킹 범죄로 징역형을 살고 2007년 3월 출소한 후 필리핀으로 출국해 또다시 해킹으로 생계를 이어가던 신씨는 지난해 1월 정모(38ㆍ미검거)씨로부터 '현대캐피탈을 해킹하면 큰돈을 벌 수 있다'는 제안을 받고 범죄에 가담했다고 경찰에서 진술했다.
신씨는 필리핀 현지 주거지에서 175만건의 현대캐피탈 고객정보를 유출해 공범들에게 건넸다.
이들 일당은 '5억원을 입금하지 않으면 개인정보를 인터넷에 유포하겠다'고 현대캐피탈을 협박해 1억원을 송금받았으며, 신씨는 해킹 대가로 1천만원을 챙긴 것으로 확인됐다.
신씨가 현대캐피탈 서버 관리 페이지를 경유해 개인정보 보관 서버에 침입한 뒤 주민번호 등 고객 개인정보를 빼내기까지 걸린 시간은 1시간30분 정도면 충분했던 것으로 조사됐다.
이 사건 외에 해킹ㆍ협박 등 6건으로 수배를 받아온 신씨는 평소 해킹 관련 서적이나 인터넷을 통해 해킹 기술을 독학으로 습득한 것으로 조사됐다.
경찰은 신씨의 여죄를 추궁하는 한편 해외로 달아난 정씨도 이른 시일 내에 검거하기 위해 국제 사법공조를 강화하고 있다. (서울=연합뉴스)
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