Cybersecurity: South Korea's president affected by data leak

Seoul. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has fallen victim to a highly sensitive data leak. Lee's personal information was said to have been accessible online for months, an investigation by South Korean public broadcaster KBS revealed. This included passport numbers, dates of birth and information about the validity of the passports. Not only the president himself was affected, but also his wife, security advisors, office employees, bodyguards, his personal doctor and several journalists.

According to KBS, the data was published in an Excel file entitled “Passenger list (Republic of Korea-Belgium)” on a paid security platform. The file is said to be the passenger list of the presidential plane during Lee Jae Myung's trip to Europe in June. The file had already been uploaded a week before the start of the trip and could be downloaded by paying users.

The President's Office has announced an investigation into the matter and immediate countermeasures. Although South Korea is considered one of the most technologically advanced and interconnected countries in the world, the country has been repeatedly criticized for security vulnerabilities and data leaks when it comes to protecting personal data and cybersecurity.