Unauthorized Access Detected in Military Medical Imaging System ... 8GB of Medical Data Compromised

Access Occurred Between November and December Last Year
Confirmed Through Security Audit

At the end of last year, it was confirmed that an unauthorized individual accessed the military medical system and obtained personal medical information belonging to military personnel.

The Taegeukgi and the Ministry of National Defense flag displayed at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News Agency

A Ministry of National Defense official stated on the 24th, "During a security inspection of the Armed Forces Medical Command in April, we identified unauthorized access to the mobile Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and completed an investigation into the circumstances. The system operation was immediately suspended upon discovery, and based on the investigation results, we will implement security enhancements and preventive measures to avoid recurrence."

The official added, "In accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act, we have posted relevant information on the websites of the Medical Command and each hospital, and we are sequentially notifying those whose contact information has been confirmed individually."

Previously, according to the Ministry of National Defense and the office of Assemblyman Lim Jongdeuk of the National Defense Committee, it was found that unauthorized access to PACS was detected during a security inspection by the Defense Counterintelligence Command in April. PACS is a system used to store and retrieve medical images such as X-rays, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and it was put into full operation in July of last year.

In response, the Ministry of National Defense, the Defense Counterintelligence Command, the Cyber Operations Command, and the Armed Forces Medical Command formed a joint investigation team to examine the circumstances of the incident and assess the extent of the damage.

The investigation revealed that the unauthorized party accessed approximately 8GB of data between November and December of last year. The breach was linked to PACS at six military hospitals: Goyang, Yangju, Pocheon, and Guri in Gyeonggi Province; Gangneung in Gangwon Province; and Daegu.

However, the Ministry of National Defense reported that it was not possible to specify which medical images or personal information had actually been accessed. A ministry official stated, "So far, it has been determined that the system was operated in a vulnerable state due to inadequate management. While we have confirmed about 8GB of network traffic, we could not determine whose information or what data was accessed." The official further explained, "Regarding the possibility of leakage, we only have indications or circumstances, but no confirmation. It is also difficult to conclude whether this was an intentional attack."

Meanwhile, the online education system of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was exposed to hacking for approximately ten months from April last year to February of this year, resulting in the potential personal information leakage of up to 10,000 people, including current and former diplomats and dispatched embassy officials. As a result, information such as names, email addresses, job titles, and affiliated departments were leaked to external parties.

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