South Korean Churches Investigate Suspected Cyberattacks

Yoido Full Gospel Church and SaRang Church are investigating suspected cyberattacks after cybersecurity researchers reported finding data linked to both South Korean congregations on a server controlled by attackers. Yoido said its review identified a dataset associated with about 850,000 members; the churches have not established how many people’s information was accessed or taken. Yoido said it was notified by South Korea’s internet security agency of a suspected breach involving its systems and is working with authorities and cybersecurity specialists. The church’s review found that six of seven datasets it examined contained no personal information. The seventh, a record of changes to members’ personal details, contained information associated with approximately 850,000 people, the church said. That dataset included names, dates of birth and histories of personal-detail changes. Yoido reported entries involving changes to resident registration numbers, phone numbers and addresses. The finding describes records associated with members, not confirmation that all of their information was accessed or misused.