The number of people whose information was exposed in a data breach at KB Kookmin Bank has swelled nearly 19-fold to 2,210 from the 119 initially identified, after a detailed probe into the earlier hacking incident uncovered more than 2,000 additional victims. Customer personal data also leaked from MIRAE ASSET Life Insurance (085620), showing that hacking damage across the financial industry has yet to subside.
KB Kookmin Bank said on the 26th that a detailed analysis of the recent breach, conducted with regulators and related agencies, confirmed that the information of 2,091 more people had been exposed. That brings the total to 2,210 from the previous 119. The newly identified victims include 1,631 customers and 460 employees and executives.
The additional exposure did not stem from a new hacking attack. It surfaced as investigators re-examined data on the system involved in the earlier breach and the related processing procedures. KB Kookmin Bank said it had continuously cross-checked the initial findings with regulators and related agencies, and that victims who had not been identified at first were discovered in that process.
"We sincerely apologize to our customers for failing to grasp the full scope at the outset," KB Kookmin Bank said. "We will do our utmost to thoroughly prevent a recurrence and to protect our customers." The bank plans to notify affected customers individually of the breach and of ways to prevent secondary damage. It is also operating a dedicated call center for reports and consultations.
The insurance sector has also been hit. MIRAE ASSET Life Insurance said in a notice posted on its website on the 26th that it detected irregularities on the 25th in its customer application system and parts of its website and had moved to respond. A hacker is reported to have accessed about 41 files, but the scale of the data actually exposed and the specific items involved are still being determined.
The Financial Supervisory Service began an urgent on-site inspection of MIRAE ASSET Life Insurance the same day. The FSS said it would focus on the specific intrusion route, the scale of the personal data exposure and whether consumers had suffered any damage.
Hacking incidents have recently struck financial firms across the board, starting with banks and extending to savings banks, capital firms and mutual finance companies. Breaches have been confirmed at Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana and BNK Busan banks; Yegaram, Welcome, DB and OK savings banks; and Hyundai Capital and KDB Capital. Similar incidents occurred at the Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives, electronic financial companies and online investment-linked finance firms.
As of the financial authorities' tally on the 14th, 16 financial firms had suffered breaches, with the personal data exposure confirmed by then reaching about 100,000 cases. An urgent security review of 555 financial companies found management shortcomings at 130 of them, including failure to apply security patches and the absence of real-time monitoring systems.