Lee calls for thorough probe into personal data leaks at financial institutions

Digital Desk | Seoul, Oct 4 (IANS) President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday called for a thorough investigation into a series of hacking attacks that caused personal information leaks at major banks and other financial institutions. Several financial firms suffered back-to-back leaks of customer information in recent hacking attacks, including Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, reports Yonhap news agency. "President Lee was briefed on the recent data breaches at financial and public institutions and the measures taken in response," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a press release. "He instructed authorities to take the matter seriously, conduct a thorough investigation and spare no effort in coming up with measures to address the issue," she added. On Thursday, Shinhan Bank said personal information of around 25,000 customers, including their names, phone numbers and annual income, had been leaked. Sources said the bank was attacked by hackers who utilized advanced artificial intelligence tools. Personal information of 89 customers was found to have been leaked from Hana Bank, while Woori Bank and NH Nonghyup Bank were also targeted in similar hacking attempts, though no personal information was leaked as the banks blocked unauthorised access to their systems. Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eog-weon and Lee Chan-jin, governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, were scheduled to hold an emergency meeting later in the day to discuss the issue with the heads of the affected firms. The meeting comes as several financial firms have suffered back-to-back leaks of customer and other information in hacking, including Hana Bank, KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank. The financial watchdog had previously planned the meeting for Wednesday but moved it forward to Sunday as the damage spread to other financial institutions over the past few days.