[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] It has been reported that approximately 40,000 digital certificates issued by the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute (KFTC) and stored by individuals were stolen by hackers.
According to the KFTC on the 25th, between August 1 and the 21st of last month, multiple attempts to access various banks using numerous digital certificates from two specific PCs were detected.
Upon investigation, the KFTC confirmed that an individual presumed to be a hacker used malicious software to steal a total of 46,000 digital certificates from individuals and attempted to randomly access banks.
The KFTC received this information from the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and, in accordance with the Digital Signature Act, forcibly revoked all affected certificates and notified the individuals involved.
Those whose certificates were forcibly revoked must obtain new certificates through their respective banks.
A KFTC official stated, "No financial losses have been identified as a result of this hacking attack," and added, "If there is suspicion that financial transaction information (such as account passwords or security card numbers) has been leaked, individuals should visit their bank branch to change their information."
The official also noted, "This incident involved attacks on personal PCs rather than the KFTC servers. Since personal PCs are vulnerable to security threats, it is advisable to store digital certificates separately in the cloud or other secure locations."
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