Seoul:The personal information of approximately 39,000 individuals has been compromised following a data breach at Mirae Asset Securities Co., a prominent brokerage firm in South Korea. The company disclosed that the breach occurred on Wednesday and Thursday, targeting its mobile web phone authentication login service and internal systems.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the breach involved the leakage of account numbers for around 3,800 customers, as well as personal data of over 35,000 current and former employees, including contractors. The compromised information includes names, employee ID numbers, email addresses, mobile phone numbers, and passwords.
In response to the breach, Mirae Asset Securities quickly blocked the unauthorized access routes and activated its emergency response system. The company reported the incident to relevant authorities, including the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Personal Information Protection Commission.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of data leaks affecting the financial sector. Recently, sister companies of Mirae Asset Securities, such as Mirae Asset Life Insurance, also experienced similar data breaches. The Financial Services Commission reported that, over the past month, more than 470,000 personal data records have been leaked from 37 financial companies, with estimated financial losses amounting to 1 billion won (approximately US$745,000). Since late September, 40 data breach incidents have been reported, affecting several banks, financial investment firms, insurance companies, and savings banks.