Yonsei University portal hacked, personal data of about 10,000 people reported leaked
In short
Yonsei University said an unauthorised external party accessed its Yonsei portal service and personal information of some members leaked. Yonhap reported that about 10,000 people, including students, were affected. The university said it blocked the attacker's IP and the leak route and reported the incident to authorities.
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Yonsei University said on 22 October that an unauthorised external party had accessed its Yonsei portal service and that personal information of some members had leaked. In a notice titled 'personal information leak guidance', the university's information and communications office apologised for the concern caused. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Yonhap reported that about 10,000 people, including current students, had their personal information leaked, and said the data belonged to current students and graduates. Maeil Business used the same figure in its headline but described the leak in its text as large-scale without a number. Seoul Economic Daily gave no figure. [ 2 , 3 ]
According to Seoul Economic Daily, the university said the leaks occurred between 19:41 and 19:43 on 20 October and in a window on the morning of 21 October. The leaked data were student or staff ID numbers, names, mobile phone numbers, emails and some system management information, which included login identifier keys, the count of wrong password entries, user status codes and last login date and time. [ 1 ]
The university said an outside party accessed the portal and looked up some members' personal information by an abnormal method, and that it had blocked the attacker's IP and the leak route and reported the incident to the Personal Information Protection Commission and others. Yonhap and Maeil Business said it also took the case to investigators. Seoul Economic Daily said the university is carrying out a security check of the whole system and will step up monitoring and security. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Per-person details of the leaked items are to be posted in the notices on Yonsei's main website from 13:00 on 22 October. The university asked members to be careful with texts, calls and emails impersonating the school, and to avoid clicking links of unclear origin or entering personal information. It said it would do its best to prevent a recurrence. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The leak involves contact details and student or staff ID numbers, and the university warned members to watch for messages impersonating the school. The documents do not say who was behind the access or how many people are affected beyond Yonhap's figure.
Key facts
- Yonsei University said on 22 October that an external, unauthorised party had accessed its portal service and leaked personal information of some members. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Yonhap reported that about 10,000 people, including current students, had personal information leaked. [ 2 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily said the leaked data were student or staff ID numbers, names, mobile numbers, emails and some system management information. [ 1 ]
- The university said it blocked the attacker's IP and the leak route and reported the incident to the Personal Information Protection Commission and others. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap and Maeil Business reported that the university also referred the case to or reported it to investigators. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Details of what was leaked for each person are to be posted in the notices on Yonsei's main website from 13:00 on 22 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Yonsei University's information and communications office announced that an unauthorised external party had accessed the portal service and some personal information had leaked, and apologised. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The university blocked the leak route and took the case to investigators. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Per-person details of the leaked items are to be available in the notices on Yonsei's main website from 13:00 on 22 October. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- How many people were affected. Yonhap gave about 10,000 in its headline and lead, and Maeil Business used the same figure in its headline but its text only says the leak was large-scale; Seoul Economic Daily gave no number.
- Which groups of members were affected. Yonhap said current students and graduates; Seoul Economic Daily listed student or staff ID numbers and spoke of some members.
- Who carried out the access and how. The university said only that an outside party used an abnormal method; no document names a suspect or a technique.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- On 20 October, between 19:41 and 19:43, the first leak occurred, the university said. [ 1 ]
- On the morning of 21 October a second leak occurred, according to the university's account as reported by Seoul Economic Daily. [ 1 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily published its report on 22 October. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reported that about 10,000 people were affected. [ 2 ]
- Per-person details were to be posted in the notices on Yonsei's main website. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]