By Jung Min-ho
Sensitive personal information of 1 million people was leaked online in a cyberattack against Korea’s largest travel agency, Hana Tour, according to police Wednesday.
The information includes names, resident registration numbers, phone numbers, home addresses and email addresses.
Yet the firm did not report the incident to police or the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) until recently. It was revealed by media reports Tuesday.
“We acknowledge it was leaked on Sept. 28 after maintenance technicians found that our computers were infected with malicious code,” the company said in a statement.
“We sincerely apologize for what happened.”
Police said they started investigating the incident after receiving the firm’s report on Oct. 13.
It is unclear who is behind the attacks. What is clear is the attacker did so to make money. According to police, the attacker asked the company for bitcoin in return for the stolen data, which was produced between October 2004 and August 2007.
Some people suspect that North Korea is behind the attacks.
At the parliamentary audit Tuesday, Rep. Kim Sung-tae of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party asked Park Jung-ho, KISA’s vice president, whether North Korea was involved. But Park did not give a clear answer, saying “it is inappropriate to reveal it now.”
After receiving the firm’s report on Oct. 11, KISA began its own investigation to figure out what went wrong, Park said.
Identity theft is usually done for financial gain. Criminals may use such information to open accounts or make purchases. The data could also be used for voice-phishing scams.
As new technologies make it increasingly easier to control anything from buying products to banking with a few clicks, the scope of the possible damage from leaked data has increased greatly over the past few years. And yet, major companies and the government have failed to reduce the number of such crimes so far.
“Many people are anxious about the incident,” Kim said. “There is great public concern that their personal information may be used for crimes.”
Speaking to lawmakers, Kim Yong-soo, vice minister for science, technology and innovation, said he feels “deeply responsible” for it and will soon come up with more effective ways to fight future attacks.
Should customers suffer any damage because of the incident, they can contact 1899-6903 or send reports to
, Hana Tour said.