Welcome Savings Bank Leaks 2,200 Corporate Client Records... Two P2P Lending Firms Also Hit

On October 4, it was found that over 2,000 pieces of corporate client information were leaked from Welcome Savings Bank. The financial sector is seeing a growing number of hacking incidents spreading throughout the industry.

According to the financial industry on October 4, Welcome Savings Bank discovered the hacking attack related to its corporate clients during a self-inspection the previous day and reported it to the authorities.

Welcome Savings Bank, Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang

It is estimated that up to 2,200 pieces of information related to corporate clients—including corporate names, corporate representatives, email addresses, and phone numbers—were leaked. Welcome Savings Bank is currently investigating the exact cause of the leak and the full extent of the damage.

So far, a total of seven financial institutions have been confirmed to have suffered personal information leaks, including Welcome Savings Bank, Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, Hana Bank, Busan Bank, Yegaram Savings Bank, and Hyundai Capital.

It was also belatedly confirmed that an information leak occurred in the online investment-linked finance sector (P2P lending). PFCT (PFCTechnologies) announced on its website on September 29 that some users' personal information had been leaked due to an external cyberattack on September 27. Personal information for approximately 300 customers was reportedly leaked.

Mouda also announced on September 29 that there was a possibility of some personal and credit information being leaked externally. On September 27, a third party allegedly gained unauthorized access to the website, and after detecting unusual activity, the company blocked the internet protocol (IP) addresses and bypass routes.

However, it has yet to be confirmed whether these information leakage incidents at P2P lending firms are part of the series of hacking attacks against the financial sector conducted via artificial intelligence (AI).

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