Personal information belonging to about 5,000 students and staff at Pukyong National University has been leaked, the school said.
According to security industry sources on the 25th, the university posted a notice on its website on Oct. 23 saying it had confirmed that personal information of students and staff was leaked through unauthorized external access to its tuition payment management system. The breach occurred in the Campus e-Moa system operated by Suhyup Bank, which handles the university's tuition collection, the school said.
The university said a total of 5,108 people were affected, including 5,106 students and two employees. For students, the exposed data included names, student identification numbers, department or major names, tuition payment amounts and virtual account numbers. For employees, it included names, departments, job titles, extension numbers, mobile phone numbers and email addresses. The university said no additional sensitive personal information, such as resident registration numbers, was leaked.
The hackers demanded money using the personal information on Oct. 20, according to the university. The school said it has been working with relevant authorities and Suhyup Bank to determine how the breach occurred and the scope of the leak. The university formed a response team and held an emergency meeting, blocked new member registration on the tuition payment management system and deactivated unauthorized accounts. It has also reported the case to the Ministry of Education and the Personal Information Protection Commission and requested a police investigation.
"We take this personal data breach very seriously," the university said in an apology. "We will work with relevant authorities to thoroughly determine the cause and do our utmost to prevent damage and recurrence."
The school added: "The leaked personal information could be exploited for secondary harm such as voice phishing or smishing by people impersonating the university or financial institutions. If anyone asks you to enter personal information or transfer money, citing unpaid tuition, refunds, additional payments or scholarship disbursements, be sure to verify through official channels."