Kakao's Business Messenger Also Hit... Emails, Attachments and More Leaked from Kakao Work

Information of around 5,000 employees at 44 client companies exposed
Names, contact details, email subject lines, body text, and attachments leaked

A personal information leak caused by hacking has occurred at Kakao Work, Kakao's business collaboration tool. The breach exposed not only users' personal information but also the contents of emails exchanged through Kakao Work and their attachments.

DK Techin, the provider of Kakao Work, announced late on November 12 that "an external attacker gained abnormal access to the Kakao Work system, and we have confirmed that some users' personal information was leaked in the process."

Kakao Work. DK Techin

The breach is believed to have exposed the personal information of around 5,000 users at 44 client companies. DK Techin reported the leak to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Personal Information Protection Commission shortly after becoming aware of it. An official from the Personal Information Protection Commission also said, "We received a report of a personal information leak from DK Techin and are looking into the details."

The breach is believed to have exposed Kakao Work users' personal information, including their names, nicknames, departments, mobile phone numbers and email addresses, as well as work-related information, including email contents and subject lines, email attachment names and the original files. Encrypted messages and attachment names were also exposed through Kakao Work Chat, its messenger feature. The exact scale of the breach and the types of personal information exposed will be determined following an investigation by the relevant authorities.

DK Techin said it blocked further attacks by removing the external access route as soon as it identified signs of the leak. "We have strengthened security measures for the system," DK Techin said. "We are inspecting the relevant systems to determine whether any additional personal information was leaked and to assess the extent of the damage. We will continue to improve necessary protective measures based on the inspection results." The company also said it had set up a page where members can check whether their information was exposed and which items were affected.

Kakao Work is a business collaboration tool developed and launched by Kakao Enterprise in 2020. It is used for work collaboration by Kakao affiliates, including Kakao's headquarters, and has also been adopted by HD Hyundai and Dongwon Group. DK Techin provides the service to client companies as the Kakao Work license provider, while Kakao holds overall operational authority.

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