"Thousands of Former and Current Diplomats' Data Stolen in Unprecedented National Diplomatic Academy Hack"

National Diplomatic Academy's Online Education System Exposed to Hacking for Nine Months

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "A Substantial Amount of Information Leaked"

Five Months After Discovery, Authorities Still Unable to Identify Perpetrator

An unprecedented incident has occurred in which the online education system of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy was hacked for an extended period. It appears that the personal information of thousands of individuals has been leaked, including not only current and former diplomats who have completed the academy's training programs, but also government officials from various ministries dispatched as mission staff to overseas diplomatic posts. Information authorities are investigating the incident, considering the possibility that it may be the work of a North Korea-related hacking organization.

Seoul Jongno-gu, Doryeom-dong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Building. Photo by Yonhap News

On July 21, an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated regarding the hacking incident, "It is currently difficult to assess the exact scale of the breach," but added, "We assume that a significant amount of information has been leaked."

According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the previous day, unknown attackers took control of the system’s servers between April and May of last year, and maintained access until February of this year. This means the hacking continued for about nine months. The academy operates a wide range of educational programs, including the standard course for diplomatic candidates, training for those assigned abroad such as heads of overseas missions, entry-level courses for newly appointed directors and assistant directors of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and foreign language education. Given that nearly all current and former diplomats of the Republic of Korea are included as trainees, the scale of leaked information is believed to be extensive. However, it is reported that this system was not connected to the Ministry's internal work network.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately blocked the system upon recognizing the hacking incident and launched an investigation together with information authorities. However, even after approximately five months, the Ministry has still not been able to identify either the full scale of the breach or the party responsible for the cyberattack. An official from the Ministry explained, "So far, there is insufficient technical evidence to conclusively identify the perpetrator."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.