[2022 National Audit] 210,000 Cyberattacks in 5 Years on Universities and Ministry of Education Affiliated Institutions

Cyberattacks Targeting Universities Account for 90.7%... Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education 5.3%
Last Year, Cyberattacks on Public Institutions under the Ministry of Education Quadrupled Compared to Three Years Ago

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Cyberattacks targeting the Ministry of Education, universities, affiliated institutions, and metropolitan and provincial offices of education have been relentless, but countermeasures appear to be insufficient.

According to data submitted by the Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) to Moon Jung-bok, a member of the National Assembly's Education Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the total number of attempted cyberattacks on the Ministry of Education, its affiliated institutions, universities, and metropolitan and provincial offices of education over the past five years (2018 to August 2022) is estimated to be 210,000.

Cyberattacks on universities accounted for 199,293 cases, representing 90.7% of the total. This year alone, web hacking incidents occurred at Soonchunhyang University, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Chongshin University, Sunrin University, and Hallym Sacred Heart University. Last year, two cases of malware infection at Seoul National University Hospital resulted in the leakage of system information and personal data.

Next, metropolitan and provincial offices of education experienced 11,562 cases (5.3%), the Ministry of Education and its affiliated institutions 6,485 cases (3%), national university hospitals 1,310 cases (0.6%), and other affiliated public institutions 955 cases (0.4%).

Cyberattacks on public institutions under the Ministry of Education surged nearly fourfold from 73 cases in 2018 to 282 cases in 2021.

The Ministry of Education's affiliated institutions include organizations that hold various exam, academic, and medical information. The Korea Education and Research Information Service, which is responsible for the overall management of educational informatization tasks such as processing elementary, middle, and high school grades through the National Education Information System (NIES, known as NAIS), has not undergone any cybersecurity inspections by the National Intelligence Service since 2012.

In June 2021, a cyberattack on the National Institute of Korean History resulted in system information leakage. Regarding the leakage of sensitive information such as data related to the Korean History Proficiency Test and examinees' personal information, the Ministry of Education stated that "there was no personal information leakage damage."

Cyberattack origins span 158 countries worldwide. By country, China leads with 64,412 cases, followed by the United States with 35,780 cases, and South Korea with 25,672 cases. Next are Germany (12,087 cases), Russia (5,129 cases), France (3,921 cases), and the Netherlands (1,667 cases).

Assemblyman Moon Jung-bok said, “Currently, attempts to illegally steal sensitive education-related information from South Korea are rapidly increasing worldwide,” adding, “Since this issue has been pointed out multiple times in past government audits, security support for institutions under the Ministry of Education should be increased.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.