SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) — A money lending unit under Welcome Financial Group has recently been hit by a ransomware attack in the latest in a series of cyberattacks against South Korean companies, officials said Monday.
Welrix I&F is currently checking for possible leaks of customer data after detecting the cyberattack early this month.
An unspecified Russian group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the dark web, saying it had acquired the financial group’s customer database, which includes their names, birth dates and account information.
The Russian group claimed that it had taken 1.32 million files amounting to 1.024 terabytes in total.
Welcome Financial Group has alerted the country’s cybersecurity watchdog, Korea Internet & Security Agency, and financial authorities of the attack. A group official said some of its internal data had been leaked and response measures were being reviewed.
The incident comes as multiple South Korean companies have been targeted in ransomware attacks in recent months, including ticket distributor Yes24 and insurance company Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI).
Financial authorities launched an inspection into SGI earlier Monday to check its security system.
This undated file photo shows Welcome Financial Group’s headquarters. (Yonhap)
yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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