Breach affects Seoul National University students and professors
Technorati Tag: Security Breach
Date Reported:
11/10/08
Organization:
Seoul National University
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
Department of French Language Education (Korean)
Location:
Gwanak-gu, Seoul
Victims:
Students and professors
Number Affected:
"more than 4,500"
Types of Data:
"names, mobile phone number, military serial number and birthday"
Breach Description:
"Personal information of more than 4,500 students and professors at Seoul National University was leaked online and has been available to anonymous people."
Reference URL:
The Korea Times
Report Credit:
Bae Ji-sook, The Korea Times
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Personal information of more than 4,500 students and professors at Seoul National University was leaked online and has been available to anonymous people.
According to the school, its French literature department uploaded an article in May giving notice of mandatory reserve force training on its Web site.
[Evan] Just in case you were wondering, post-secondary schools in other nations struggle with information security too. Breaches are not discriminatory and ALL information is at (some level of) risk.
However, a Microsoft Excel file of 4,500 males subject to the training at the school was attached to it along with their names, mobile phone number, military serial number and birthday.
[Evan] I'm not sure if a Korean military serial number is the equivalent of anything in the United States, but I can assume that it is unique to the individual it is assigned to. I can also assume that the number is used for identification AND likely authentication, much like a Social Security number.
The information was originally kept by the reserve force regiment to update the contact information since many changed their phone numbers, the school said.
The school said that an assistant to the department has mistakenly uploaded the list and expressed regret.
It is investigating where and how the leaked information was used.
The case comes after public concern over personal information leakage has been rising.
[Evan] Information security (or the lack thereof) is gaining attention worldwide. Information is power.
Commentary:
This was the only public story I could find concerning this breach, but it gives us enough information to make some valuable assumptions. Information security is not only a United States issue, it is a worldwide business issue.
Past Breaches:
Unknown
Date Reported:11/10/08
Organization:
Seoul National University
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
Department of French Language Education (Korean)
Location:
Gwanak-gu, Seoul
Victims:
Students and professors
Number Affected:
"more than 4,500"
Types of Data:
"names, mobile phone number, military serial number and birthday"
Breach Description:
"Personal information of more than 4,500 students and professors at Seoul National University was leaked online and has been available to anonymous people."
Reference URL:
The Korea Times
Report Credit:
Bae Ji-sook, The Korea Times
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Personal information of more than 4,500 students and professors at Seoul National University was leaked online and has been available to anonymous people.
According to the school, its French literature department uploaded an article in May giving notice of mandatory reserve force training on its Web site.
[Evan] Just in case you were wondering, post-secondary schools in other nations struggle with information security too. Breaches are not discriminatory and ALL information is at (some level of) risk.
However, a Microsoft Excel file of 4,500 males subject to the training at the school was attached to it along with their names, mobile phone number, military serial number and birthday.
[Evan] I'm not sure if a Korean military serial number is the equivalent of anything in the United States, but I can assume that it is unique to the individual it is assigned to. I can also assume that the number is used for identification AND likely authentication, much like a Social Security number.
The information was originally kept by the reserve force regiment to update the contact information since many changed their phone numbers, the school said.
The school said that an assistant to the department has mistakenly uploaded the list and expressed regret.
It is investigating where and how the leaked information was used.
The case comes after public concern over personal information leakage has been rising.
[Evan] Information security (or the lack thereof) is gaining attention worldwide. Information is power.
Commentary:
This was the only public story I could find concerning this breach, but it gives us enough information to make some valuable assumptions. Information security is not only a United States issue, it is a worldwide business issue.
Past Breaches:
Unknown
Posted by Evan Francen at 11/10/2008 2:15 PM 
Categories: Seoul National University, Employee Mistake
Categories: Seoul National University, Employee Mistake
Posts Atom 1.0
Comments