Yonsei University Portal Hacked, Personal Information of 15,000 Leaked... Police Launch Preliminary Investigation

Contact information of current students, alumni and faculty and staff leaked
Two instances of unauthorized external access confirmed on October 20 and 21
Police to consider a formal investigation after examining signs of hacking

Police have launched a preliminary investigation into the leak of personal information belonging to more than 15,000 current students, alumni, faculty and staff through Yonsei University's portal service.

An unmanned certificate issuance kiosk at Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd. Yonhap News Agency

In a notice about the data breach on October 22, Yonsei University's Office of Information and Communications said, "We have confirmed that personal information belonging to some members of the university community was leaked following unauthorized external access to the Yonsei Portal service. We sincerely apologize for the concern caused by this incident." The leak is believed to have occurred in two separate incidents: from 7:41 to 7:43 p.m. on October 20 and from 10:04 to 10:11 a.m. on October 21.

The leaked information included student and employee identification numbers, names, mobile phone numbers, email addresses and system administration information. The university estimates that more than 15,000 people may have been affected. It said, however, that unique identifying information, such as resident registration numbers, and sensitive information were not leaked.

Yonsei University has blocked the route through which the data was leaked and is conducting additional security checks. It reported the incident to the Personal Information Protection Commission on October 21 and requested an investigation by law enforcement on October 22. Starting at 1 p.m. on October 22, it also set up a call center to receive reports from people affected. The university urged people to be cautious of text messages, phone calls and emails impersonating the university to prevent further harm from the misuse of personal information.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Cyber Crime Investigation Unit, which received the case, is reportedly verifying the facts, including how the information was leaked and the scale of the damage. Police plan to investigate signs of external hacking and how the personal information was leaked before deciding whether to launch a formal investigation.

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