KB News Desk
Cyberattack attempts targeting South Korea’s Overseas Koreans Agency surged to 4,271 in the first seven months of this year, more than 12 times the 353 attempts recorded throughout last year, according to data released Tuesday.
The agency, launched in June 2023, has yet to establish a dedicated cybersecurity unit and only began allocating a separate information security budget this year.
According to cybersecurity management data submitted by the Overseas Koreans Agency to the office of Rep. Kim Gunn of the main opposition People Power Party, attempted cyberattacks on the agency totaled 221 between its launch on June 5, 2023, and the end of that year.
The number rose to 748 in 2024 before falling to 353 last year. From January through July this year, however, the figure jumped to 4,271.
Website hacking attempts accounted for the largest share this year, followed by 1,547 cases involving blacklisted IP addresses, 352 denial-of-service attempts, 64 unauthorized access attempts and 60 network intrusion attempts.
There were also five attempts to collect server information, four malware infection attempts and three attempts to exfiltrate server information.
Of the 4,271 attempts recorded this year, 1,962 fell into categories that had not been recorded at all between the agency’s launch and the end of last year. Those categories included blacklisted IP activity, denial-of-service attacks, network intrusion attempts and attempted server information leaks.
By final transit point, the United States accounted for the largest number of attempts this year, with 993 cases. South Korea followed with 291, Japan with 161, China with 151, Singapore with 146, Germany with 136 and the United Kingdom with 125.
Last year, the United States also ranked first with 83 cases, followed by China with 41 and India and Germany with 22 each.
The data showed, however, that none of the attempted attacks had resulted in a confirmed information security incident.
Despite the sharp increase in attack attempts, the Overseas Koreans Agency currently has no dedicated cybersecurity organization. Dedicated personnel are expected to be assigned following an organizational restructuring this month.
The agency operates its security monitoring system through an outsourced service provider and has yet to fully implement round-the-clock monitoring. Its monitoring staff consists of six people: one project manager, one incident response specialist and four personnel assigned to 24-hour monitoring.
The agency also had no separately allocated information security budget for the first three years after its establishment.
This year, 2.701 billion won ($1.9 million), or 58.7 percent of the agency’s 4.601 billion won information budget, was allocated to information security.
For next year, the agency has set an information budget of 2.031 billion won, of which 342 million won, or 16.8 percent, is earmarked for information security. A request for an increase is currently undergoing a third round of review.
