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South Korean ministry launches probe into TVING member data leak

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Under investigation
  • South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT has formed a joint investigation team to probe a member information leak incident at the online video service TVING.
  • TVING reported the breach to the government on June 1, and an investigation confirmed unauthorized access to its database, leading to the leakage of user data.
  • The leaked information includes IDs, names, birthdates, encrypted phone numbers and email addresses, and potentially account passwords, prompting TVING to recommend password changes for users.

South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT is launching a full-scale investigation into a member information leak incident affecting the online video service TVING. The ministry announced on June 3 that it has established a joint public-private investigation team to examine the extent of the damage and the causes of the breach.

We have confirmed that personal information has been leaked due to unauthorized access to the database storing users' personal information.

— TVINGOfficial notice from TVING regarding the data breach.

The investigation team comprises personnel from the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), along with private sector experts in forensics and cloud services. TVING initially reported the security breach to the government on June 1. Following the report, the ministry and KISA took immediate steps to preserve data and began investigating the incident's cause and scope.

TVING confirmed the data leak through a notice posted on its website on June 3. The company stated that unauthorized access to its database, where user information is stored, led to the leakage of personal data. The breach is believed to have occurred when an unidentified hacker accessed the database and transferred personal information files externally. The leaked data includes user IDs, names, birthdates, linked information (CI), duplicate registration confirmation information (DI), partially encrypted mobile phone numbers, partially encrypted email addresses, encrypted bank account numbers for refunds, and one-way encrypted passwords, along with other service usage details.

Currently, it has been identified that the incident occurred as an unidentified hacker accessed the database storing personal information and transmitted personal information files externally.

— TVINGFurther details provided by TVING on the method of the data breach.

To prevent further damage, TVING has enhanced its security monitoring and opened a customer center to assist users. The company strongly advises users to change their passwords for both TVING and any other services where they use the same account information. The joint investigation team plans to transparently disclose the findings regarding the cause and scale of the information leak upon completion of their investigation.

We recommend changing passwords for TVING and other services that use the same account information to prevent potential damage.

— TVINGAdvice given to users to mitigate risks following the data leak.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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