Recently, there has been a significant increase in cyber hacking attacks targeting virtual assets such as Bitcoin, driven by the rising value of these assets. Hackers are primarily targeting the virtual assets of blockchain companies through sophisticated hacking attempts. The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) have announced key cyber threat trends in the private sector for the first half of 2024.
Over the past three years, the number of reported security breaches has been steadily increasing. Last year, the annual number of reported breaches was 1,277, an 11.8% increase from the previous year, and the number of reports in the first half of this year surged by 35% compared to the same period last year, totaling 899 cases. In particular, web server hacking (504 cases) and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks (153 cases) have seen significant increases.
There has been a rise in hacking attempts targeting the virtual assets of blockchain companies for financial gain. Globally, the amount of stolen virtual assets increased from approximately 910 billion won in the first half of last year to about 1.9 trillion won in the first half of this year, more than doubling. Hackers use phishing emails disguised as emails from cryptocurrency exchange officials to spread malware, stealing virtual wallets and private keys.
Specifically, in the first half of this year, a blockchain bridge service development company was robbed of approximately 105.5 billion won, a blockchain-based karaoke application development company lost about 18 billion won, and a blockchain game platform development company was deprived of approximately 47.8 billion won. These incidents illustrate the increasing cases of virtual asset theft.
The government urges companies to raise security awareness and establish response systems, and it is making every effort to prevent and recover from cyber breach damages. KISA has established a National Damage Response Team and is operating teams for voice phishing, smishing response, and digital threat analysis. Small and non-profit organizations can utilize various free security support services provided by KISA’s ‘Boho Nara’.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and KISA plan to amend the Information and Communications Network Act, which will come into effect on August 14, aiming to strengthen measures to prevent the spread of breach damages and subsequent actions. Jeong Chang-rim, ICT Security Network Policy Officer at the Ministry, emphasized the need for companies to raise internal security awareness and establish response systems, and for users to be cautious of unidentified messages, pledging to do their utmost to prevent and contain breach damages.
