Passwords for over 75,000 Google accounts in Daejeon schools and educational institutions were changed without permission… Educational authorities' measures

(Daejeon = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Joo-hyung = Education authorities took action after Google account passwords used in schools and educational institutions in the Daejeon area were changed without permission.

According to the Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education on the 6th, the city's Office of Education confirmed that the password for the 'Google Workspace for Education' account, which supports remote classes for schools at all levels, was changed without permission around 10 p.m. on the 4th, took measures to stop using it, and instructed users to change the password again if necessary.

The city's Office of Education previously conducted a server inspection as a case of account failure was confirmed between the 28th of last month and the 1st of last month, and it is known that the fact and status of the damage was later confirmed through Google.

The victims of unauthorized changes identified to date amount to approximately 75,000 accounts from 200 schools and institutions of all levels.

The city's Office of Education is concerned about personal information leakage and secondary damage, and is asking students to be careful of smishing and phishing texts and emails and to periodically check for identity theft.

In addition, if we suspect a personal information leak, we are responding by immediately reporting the damage and providing guidance on how to obtain rights relief.

However, according to education authorities, it has been confirmed that no reports of suspected personal information leaks have been received to date.

An official from the city's Office of Education said, "Following Google's explanation that this is a blocking measure due to an external attack, we are monitoring the situation and working on account recovery, etc."

In response to this, the Daejeon Teachers' Union issued a statement and emphasized, "As online-based learning and digital education environments expand, the security inspection obligations of companies and related organizations that support them must be thoroughly fulfilled."