Personal data breaches caused by hacking have hit non-bank lenders including Hyundai Capital and Yegaram Savings Bank, following similar incidents at South Korea's major commercial banks. At Hyundai Capital, the resident registration numbers of mortgage brokers were exposed, while Yegaram Savings Bank estimates that the personal data of about 40,000 customers was taken.
Hyundai Capital confirmed that on the afternoon of the 2nd it was targeted by an attack on its mortgage broker lookup page that used artificial intelligence and was routed through an overseas internet protocol address, according to financial industry sources on the 3rd.
The attack exposed the personal data of some of the company's 146 mortgage brokers. The exposed information included names, mobile phone numbers and resident registration numbers. Hyundai Capital said no personal data of retail customers was leaked and that there was no access to or attack on its internal systems.
Signs of a customer data leak were also confirmed at Yegaram Savings Bank. On the 2nd, the lender posted a notice and apology over the data breach on its website under the name of its chief executive, saying it had confirmed indications that an unidentified hacker accessed a server containing customer personal data on Sept. 30 and extracted information.
The exposed information included customer names, dates of birth and contact details, with the number of those affected estimated at about 40,000. The exact figure is still being verified.
Yegaram Savings Bank believes the hacking was carried out through a remote vulnerability in an external software solution it had been using. Immediately after detecting the leak, it suspended the related service and blocked outside IP addresses, and it has also stepped up security monitoring to prevent further damage.
The lender will operate a call center for affected customers and plans to send text message notifications to those whose data was exposed. It will also review damage reports filed with the call center and support related remedy procedures.
Data breaches caused by hacking have come in quick succession across the financial industry in recent weeks. South Korea's five largest commercial banks were all targeted by AI-driven hacking attacks, and customer data was leaked at Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Hana Bank.
