Data breach at South Korean securities broker affects around 39,000 people
Mirae Asset Securities reports that customer account numbers and staff data were stolen.
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Data belonging to around 39,000 people has been leaked at South Korean securities broker Mirae Asset Securities following cyberattacks. The company says account numbers belonging to around 3,800 customers and personal data relating to 35,255 current and former employees and contractors were stolen.
Mirae Asset Securities disclosed the data breach. According to the company, unauthorised parties gained access on Wednesday and Thursday through the mobile web service for telephone verification and via an internal system. The company says it has closed the access routes involved and launched a crisis response.
Account numbers belonging to around 3,800 customers are believed to have been leaked. According to the information available, this did not include account holders’ names or other sensitive banking details. For 35,255 current and former employees and contractors, names and staff numbers were among the data affected; for some, email addresses, mobile phone numbers and passwords were also involved.
Mirae Asset says unique identifying information, such as South Korean identity numbers, passport numbers and driving licence numbers, was not stolen. The company also reports that no financial damage has so far been established and that services continue to operate normally. That does not rule out misuse of leaked personal data.
The securities broker reported the incident to South Korea’s financial regulators and privacy authority. Independent reporting by SBS confirms the scale and the main types of data involved. The regulators will have to determine how the attackers gained access and whether security and reporting procedures complied with the rules.
The incident is part of a series of data breaches at South Korean financial companies. For Dutch companies, the combination of customer data, staff information and access details is particularly relevant: a breach can also be used for phishing or identity fraud. There is no indication that Dutch customers were involved in this incident.
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The numbers and types of data correspond to Mirae Asset’s statement as reported by Yonhap and SBS. Unconfirmed points, such as the attackers’ identity and future misuse, were not presented as facts.
- confirmed Around 3,800 customer account numbers and data belonging to 35,255 current and former employees and contractors were leaked. — This number appears in reporting by Yonhap. source
- confirmed The attacks took place on Wednesday and Thursday through a mobile verification service and an internal system. — Mirae Asset reported these two access routes to Yonhap. source
- confirmed No financial damage or disruption to services has so far been established. — SBS quotes Mirae Asset’s statement on this. source
Editor's note
The scale and types of leaked data were reported by Mirae Asset and confirmed by SBS. The cause, the attackers’ responsibility and any subsequent financial damage have not yet been established.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- Het Parool — „datalek cyberaanval”
- NRC — „datalek cyberaanval”
- Tweakers — „datalek cyberaanval”