Foreign ministry-affiliated diplomatic academy suffers cyber breach

Korea National Diplomatic Academy / Korea Times file photo

An online education system operated by an institution affiliated with the foreign ministry was found to have been attacked by hackers, prompting authorities to launch an investigation into possible data leaks, the ministry said Monday.

The foreign ministry said it received a notification from a relevant government agency in early February regarding suspicious access to the online education system of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) and immediately shut down the system.

According to the investigation, an unidentified attacker took control of the system server between April and May 2025 and was believed to have maintained access to the system until February.

The compromised server is believed to have stored educational videos and information on trainees, including their names and user IDs.

"It was difficult to detect the attack through conventional methods as the intruder exploited a previously undisclosed software vulnerability, known as a zero-day vulnerability," a ministry official said.

"Currently, we are unable to determine exactly what data, if any, may have been leaked. The KNDA's online system has remained offline since February, and the probe is under way."