EBS attacked by hackers

By Yi Whan-woo

The state-run educational television station said Thursday that its website had been hacked and the personal information of some 4 million users stolen.

The Educational Broadcasting System reported the case to police after the cyber attack on its website at www.ebs.co.kr, which was allegedly launched from China.

“We are cooperating closely with police to prevent any further damage to our customers,” EBS said in a pop-up notice on its site.

The leaked information includes users’ names, IDs, passwords, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and residential addresses. The victims are among 20 million members of the website. They joined the website before December 2009.

The firm said personal identification numbers and bank account information are secure. It also said an affiliate website (www.ebsi.co.kr), which provides online education programs for high school students, is also safe.

EBS first detected the hacking Tuesday. The cyber attack was allegedly made by a malignant code using an Internet Protocol (IP) address from China, according to the company.

The firm fixed the problem and the website is back to normal. The company, however, advised all of its 4 million users to change their user IDs and passwords.

“It’s possible that those users could fall victim to criminals,” the company said.

The Cyber Terror Response Center of the National Police Agency has taken over the web management system of EBS to inspect the scope of damage and trace the exact route of the hacking.

The website provides television and radio programs. It is managed by KT, the country’s largest landline and high-speed Internet service provider.