(LEAD) Financial Security Institute reports data leak following hacking attack

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with details)

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run Financial Security Institute (FSI) reported a data leak following a hacking attack targeting its security assessment system, officials said Tuesday.

The FSI, which oversees financial information provided by banks and insurers, detected the breach the previous day, according to financial authorities.

The institute identified that unauthorized external access had prompted the data leak at 3 p.m. Monday and immediately blocked the affected system, officials said.

The FSI then reported the leak to the Financial Services Commission and the state-run Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA).

The leaked information reportedly came from the FSI's website used to conduct security assessments of financial institutions.

Included among it was some 200 administration forms, around 300 pieces of personal data, including names and birthdates mentioned in the forms, and some 350 pieces of information linked to users of the system.

Tuesday's attack is known to have involved a cyberattack where the hacker frequently changed internet protocol addresses to appear as legitimate access.

sookim@yna.co.kr
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