[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Several celebrities, including actor Joo Jin-mo, have suffered from mobile phone hacking, prompting the police to launch an investigation. In response, Samsung Electronics stated, "Samsung Cloud service was not hacked."
On the 9th, Samsung Electronics announced through the 'Samsung Members' community notice, "Samsung Galaxy phones or Samsung Cloud service were not hacked. It is presumed that some user accounts were leaked externally and then misused."
They added, "Personal information stored in Samsung Cloud is securely managed according to the privacy policy as long as IDs and passwords are not exposed," and urged users to "set up two-factor authentication for safe use, although measures have already been taken to prevent harm to innocent victims."
Samsung Electronics advised users not to use the same ID and password for Samsung accounts as for other accounts, to change passwords regularly, and to enable two-step verification for enhanced security.
Samsung Electronics announced the enhanced security two-step verification method on the 9th through a notice in the 'Samsung Members' community. Photo by Samsung Members Community
Earlier on the 8th, the Cyber Safety Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they are investigating hacking and extortion cases involving some celebrities' smartphones.
Joo’s agency, Vibe Brothers Korea, released an official statement on the 7th, revealing that "the actor has been subjected to privacy invasion and malicious threats to disclose personal data to the media simply because he is a celebrity."
The agency added, "They have even demanded money in exchange for this," and stated, "We will take legal action based on the collected evidence to protect the actor’s privacy and prevent further damage."
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