Bithumb, Mirae Asset, Daishin join growing list of cyberattack victims

Cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, asset manager Mirae Asset Global Investments and Daishin Securities have become the latest victims of cyberattacks sweeping Korea’s financial sector, industry officials and financial authorities said Wednesday.

Daishin Securities said in a press release earlier in the day that personal and credit information belonging to 38,490 customers had been leaked. The brokerage said it detected signs of unauthorized access by a hacker on Oct. 17 to a server linked to online securities account openings for discretionary investment services.

Bithumb discovered Tuesday that personal information had been leaked following unauthorized access to its internal mobile groupware system. It is examining the scope of the breach, including whether customer information was compromised.

A hacking incident was also reported at Mirae Asset Global Investments, prompting financial authorities to investigate the extent of the damage and the circumstances of the breach.

The latest incidents came after Mirae Asset Life Insurance detected unusual activity in some of its systems Sunday and launched an emergency response after identifying a cyber intrusion. It was the first insurer confirmed to have been affected in the recent wave of attacks.

Since a breach at Shinhan Bank was reported on Sept. 30, cyberattacks have spread from banks and savings banks to other major segments of the financial sector.

With damage now confirmed across all major segments except credit card companies, the suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted attacks are raising concerns about the industry’s ability to defend against cyber threats.