A massive data leak has been detected in the insurance sector, according to Korean authorities. The police and the Financial Supervisory Service said that the private information of some 13,000 policyholders has been stolen from 14 insurance companies. "The data involved the names of the subscribers, their reside
A massive data leak has been detected in the insurance sector, according to Korean authorities.
The police and the Financial Supervisory Service said that the private information of some 13,000 policyholders has been stolen from 14 insurance companies.
"The data involved the names of the subscribers, their resident registration numbers and cell phone numbers," an FSS official said. "We plan to take appropriate measures (against the insurance firms) after closely looking into the case (revealed by police in Incheon)."
Regarding preventive measures, he said it was necessary to bolster oversight of insurance sales agents as well as insurance firms, stressing that the data leak was found to have been leaked by staff at the firms.
The Incheon district police said it arrested 14 individuals, who sold personal information held by the 16 insurance firms and some savings banks to private moneylenders. 3 of the 14 scammers were indicted.
Aside from the scammers, some of the data was found to have been stolen through intra-group trading between the local business units and their overseas headquarters.
The FSS has been prioritizing cyber security in the financial market in the wake of a series of data breaches and leaks that continue to occur in Korea.
This month and last month, major banks and credit card companies were found to have leaked the personal information of more than 10 million users.