National Cyber Crisis Alert Raised to 'Caution' Following NIRS Data Center Fire

The National Intelligence Service raised the national cyber crisis alert level from "Attention" to "Caution" on September 29, 2025.

On this day, the National Intelligence Service announced through the National Cyber Security Center's cyber crisis alert that the level would be raised to "Caution" as of 6:00 p.m.

The decision to issue the alert was made in response to the continued disruption of government administrative systems following the fire at the National Information Resources Service on September 26. The aim is to minimize public damage and to strengthen monitoring against hacking attempts that could exploit the current state of confusion.

Amid the near paralysis of the government network due to a fire at the National Information Resources Service, a notice stating "Access with mobile ID is not possible due to the fire at the National Information Resources Service" is posted at the entrance of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on September 29, 2025. Photo by Jo Yongjun

Additionally, with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit scheduled to take place in Gyeongju on October 31, there is a recognized need to reinforce monitoring, prevention, and response measures against domestic and international cyber threats.

The National Intelligence Service instructed all administrative agencies to carry out response activities in accordance with the cyber crisis "Caution" alert level, as outlined in the Cyber Crisis Response Manual.

If any unusual signs such as cyberattacks or network paralysis are detected, they must be immediately reported to the National Cyber Security Center (National Cyber Crisis Management Team) and the National Security Office (National Crisis Management Center).

Each affiliated and subordinate agency must disseminate the "Caution" alert and implement technical and administrative security measures in accordance with the standard cyber crisis response manual and related guidelines.

Amid the paralysis of 600 major administrative information systems due to the fire at the National Information Resources Service data center, concerns have been raised that cyberattacks may intensify by taking advantage of the current service instability.

The government estimates that it will take about four weeks to transfer the 96 completely destroyed systems to the Daegu National Information Resources Service Center. As a result, a cyber security vulnerability period of about one month is anticipated.