(News Focus) Wave of cyber breaches exposes growing risks to S. Korea's digital economy

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SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- A relentless wave of cyberattacks on South Korean banks, telecom operators, businesses and government agencies has exposed growing risks to the country's digital economy, highlighting the need for stronger cybersecurity.

The scale and frequency of the breaches have raised concerns that cyber threats could extend beyond personal data theft to disrupt financial services, business operations and industrial supply chains.

The latest series of security breaches has brought those concerns to the highest levels of government.

A pedestrian walks past automated teller machines (ATMs) operated by commercial banks in Seoul on Oct. 4, 2026. (Yonhap)

Most recently, police have launched a preliminary investigation into the online leak of personal information belonging to 168 individuals who traveled aboard the presidential aircraft during a trip to Europe in June, including President Lee Jae Myung, the first lady and Cabinet ministers.

Following the incident, the foreign ministry said it is taking steps to reissue the passports of the president and first lady.

The leak has raised fresh questions about how government agencies handle sensitive information, prompting broader scrutiny of cybersecurity practices.

On Tuesday, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it will launch emergency security inspections at some 2,100 government agencies nationwide, including central government ministries and local governments.

The spy agency also plans to conduct direct security checks on critical public information and communications infrastructure under its oversight, with the inspections expected to be completed by mid-November.

The financial sector has also been hit by a series of breaches, exposing the scale of the problem.

On Oct. 14, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said cybersecurity incidents had been confirmed at 16 financial firms, affecting approximately 100,000 customer records.

The affected institutions included commercial banks, savings banks and credit finance companies.

Concerns deepened on Oct. 28, when Daishin Securities, Mirae Asset Global Investments and cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb reported separate cybersecurity incidents involving customer information.

The threat is growing as hackers increasingly turn to artificial intelligence (AI) tools to find security weaknesses and launch attacks against multiple targets.

The recent incidents have highlighted the risks facing South Korea's highly digitalized economy, where financial institutions and businesses rely heavily on shared networks and online services.

Visitors check cryptocurrency prices at a lounge operated by cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb in Seoul on Nov. 2, 2026. (Yonhap)

A breach at a telecom operator, for example, could expose customer information used for banking and other online services, while an attack on a major cloud provider could disrupt multiple businesses at once.

Experts say the risks also extend to South Korea's key manufacturing industries, including semiconductors, automobiles and shipbuilding, which increasingly rely on connected factories and automated production systems.

Against this backdrop, the government has stepped up efforts to strengthen cybersecurity defenses.

Last month, the Ministry of Science and ICT raised the country's cyber crisis warning level by one notch to "caution," the second lowest in its four-tier system, amid global efforts to address two critical security flaws in PHP, a widely used programming language.

The ministry also plans to inspect around 170 major private-sector IT infrastructure facilities as part of efforts to identify security weaknesses before further breaches occur.

Financial regulators have announced plans to tighten identity checks and access controls, improve information sharing and increase corporate executives' responsibility for cybersecurity.

While major banks, companies and government agencies have pledged to increase cybersecurity spending and tighten security measures, concerns remain that AI-powered attacks could exploit vulnerabilities faster than organizations can address them.

Industry experts say companies need to focus more on preventing attacks rather than simply responding after breaches occur.

"The top priority is to strengthen the fundamentals of cybersecurity by properly establishing basic defenses, including firewalls, encryption, multifactor authentication, and vulnerability detection and response systems," said Kim Jin-soo, chairman of the Korea Information Security Industry Association (KISIA).

"To achieve this, both businesses and the government must significantly increase their cybersecurity investments from current levels," he stressed.

ejkim@yna.co.kr (END)

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(News Focus) Wave of cyber breaches exposes growing risks to S. Korea's digital economy

这将使谷歌能够向您展示与您的搜索匹配或相关的韩联社新闻文章。

首尔，11月3日（韩联社）——韩国银行、电信运营商、企业和政府机构持续遭受网络攻击，暴露出该国数字经济面临的日益增长的风险，凸显了加强网络安全的必要性。

数据泄露的规模和频率引发了人们的担忧，即网络威胁可能不仅限于个人数据盗窃，还会扰乱金融服务、商业运营和工业供应链。

最近一系列安全漏洞事件已经引起了政府最高层的关注。

2026年10月4日，一名行人走过首尔各大商业银行的自动取款机。（韩联社）

最近，警方对 6 月份乘坐总统专机访问欧洲期间，包括李在明总统、第一夫人和内阁部长在内的 168 人的个人信息在网上泄露事件展开了初步调查。

事件发生后，外交部表示正在采取措施重新签发总统和第一夫人的护照。

此次泄密事件引发了人们对政府机构如何处理敏感信息的新质疑，并促使人们对网络安全措施进行更广泛的审查。

周二，国家情报局（NIS）表示，将对全国约2100个政府机构展开紧急安全检查，其中包括中央政府各部委和地方政府。

该间谍机构还计划对其监管下的关键公共信息和通信基础设施进行直接安全检查，预计检查将于 11 月中旬完成。

金融领域也遭受了一系列安全漏洞的冲击，暴露出问题的严重性。

10 月 14 日，金融服务委员会 (FSC) 表示，已确认 16 家金融公司发生网络安全事件，影响约 10 万条客户记录。

受影响的机构包括商业银行、储蓄银行和信贷金融公司。

10 月 28 日，大真证券、未来资产环球投资和加密货币交易所 Bithumb 分别报告了涉及客户信息的网络安全事件，这加剧了人们的担忧。

随着黑客越来越多地利用人工智能 (AI) 工具来寻找安全漏洞并对多个目标发起攻击，这种威胁正在不断加剧。

最近发生的事件凸显了韩国高度数字化经济面临的风险，韩国的金融机构和企业严重依赖共享网络和在线服务。

2026年11月2日，游客在首尔一家由加密货币交易所Bithumb运营的休息室查看加密货币价格。（韩联社）

例如，电信运营商的数据泄露可能会泄露用于银行和其他在线服务的客户信息，而对大型云服务提供商的攻击可能会同时扰乱多家企业的业务。

专家表示，这些风险也延伸到韩国的关键制造业，包括半导体、汽车和造船业，这些行业越来越依赖互联工厂和自动化生产系统。

在此背景下，政府加大了加强网络安全防御的力度。

上个月，在国际社会共同努力解决广泛使用的编程语言 PHP 中两个严重安全漏洞之际，韩国科学技术信息通信部将该国的网络危机预警级别提高了一级，达到“警戒”级别，这是其四级预警系统中的第二低级别。

该部还计划检查约 170 个主要的私营部门 IT 基础设施，以便在发生进一步安全漏洞之前发现安全漏洞。

金融监管机构已宣布计划加强身份验证和访问控制，改善信息共享，并增加企业高管对网络安全的责任。

尽管各大银行、公司和政府机构都承诺增加网络安全支出并加强安全措施，但人们仍然担心，人工智能驱动的攻击可能会比组织解决漏洞的速度更快地利用这些漏洞。

业内专家表示，企业需要更加注重预防攻击，而不是仅仅在攻击发生后才做出应对。

韩国信息安全产业协会（KISIA）会长金镇洙表示：“首要任务是通过正确建立基本防御措施来加强网络安全的基础，包括防火墙、加密、多因素身份验证以及漏洞检测和响应系统。”

他强调：“要实现这一目标，企业和政府都必须在现有水平的基础上大幅增加网络安全方面的投资。”

ejkim@yna.co.kr (完)

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