(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Cho Seong-heum, Kim Yun-gu, Shin Chang-yong, Lim Ki-chang = As the impact of the hacking incident targeting the financial sector spreads, the industry also began emergency inspections during the holidays, including checking to see if a similar situation occurred.
The industrial world has a relatively low scope and sensitivity of personal information compared to the financial sector, but as this hacking went beyond a specific company and showed an omni-directional aspect of the industry, tensions appear to be increasing in preparation for an emergency.
According to the industry on the 5th, as it was discovered that a lot of sensitive customer information in the financial sector was leaked due to this incident, industries such as electronics, automobiles, construction, and aviation also began checking for abnormalities in their internal information protection systems.
Immediately after the incident, the electronics and home appliance industries blocked hacker Internet addresses (IPs) disclosed by the Financial Security Institute and conducted emergency security checks.
An industry official said, "We checked whether major vulnerabilities and information were exposed in accordance with the government's recommendation to strengthen security in preparation for recent cyber attacks," and added, "There have been no signs of information leaks or attacks from the outside."
In addition, the industry is strengthening the identification and protection measures for external contact points that it has always implemented.
If vulnerabilities are identified during this inspection, we plan to make improvements and further strengthen the security system, such as control of external abnormalities and data encryption.
We will also promote awareness of information protection by continuously providing cybersecurity and information leak prevention training to executives and employees.
In the construction industry, no unusual incidents related to hacking have yet been confirmed, but as major construction companies focus on the housing business, they plan to check for the possibility of personal information leaks regarding tenants, etc.
An official from a large construction company said, "No hacking damage has yet been confirmed or emergency inspection orders have been issued accordingly," but "measures such as checking the status and reviewing preparedness measures are expected to prepare for the possibility of leakage of personal information related to apartment sales contracts."
The steel industry is not letting go of its tension, even though the possibility of hacking attempts on personal information is relatively low compared to general companies that deal directly with consumers.
A POSCO Holdings official said, "There was no hacking attempt targeting customer data," but added, "However, we conducted an emergency inspection to see if there were similar vulnerabilities."
He went on to explain, “Instead of having people check each one, we are regularly conducting automated mock hacking tests on important systems by introducing an artificial intelligence (AI) agent from a professional company.” He added, “The AI agent is a method of reinforcing the defense wall by preemptively identifying security loopholes within the system.”
A Hyundai Steel official said, “There have been no unusual incidents related to hacking so far.”
The automobile industry also sees no damage yet.
A Hyundai Motors official said, “The security team is constantly inspecting,” and “We conduct inspections according to the guidelines recommended by the government or organizations.”
The airline industry also announced that there is currently no damage from customer information hacking.
A Korean Air official said, “Due to the nature of the company handling sensitive personal information of passengers, we are continuously conducting security checks.”
An industry official said, "The financial sector and industry have different characteristics, but their awareness of the importance of personal information protection cannot be different. We will constantly inspect and supplement our security system in accordance with strengthened government policies and related laws."
