KOREA: Military loan website hacked twice

Defense Ministry website temporarily shut down to avoid potential illegal activity after recent Internet security breaches

The Korea Times
Thursday, October 13, 2005

By Jung Sung-ki

A Defense Ministry website aimed at providing scholarships to military personnel was hacked into twice in recent weeks, the Defense Security Command (DSC) said Thursday.

The DSC began to investigate the case to prevent additional crimes involving the information illegally acquired from the Web site, Col. Shin Byung-chul at the ministry said.

The Internet homepage, named "Hoguk Scholarship Foundation," is currently closed.

The foundation is affiliated with the ministry, which takes charge of lending money to active military officers and employees at military bases.

The site has personal information of military personnel, such as registration numbers, bank account numbers and home addresses, Shin said.

"The investigation found that one of the hackers is a South Korean national. We are continuing to identify other cyber terrorists," a DSC official said.

The second break-in occurred on Oct. 9, following the first exploit late last month, he said.

Date Posted: 10/13/2005