Hackers steal info on 35 million Internet users in S. Korea

Published: Friday July 29, 2011 MYT 9:51:00 AM

SEOUL: The personal information of about 35 million Internet users in South Korea was stolen in an alleged hacking attack that originated from China.

Hackers purportedly attacked popular Internet and social media sites Nate and Cyworld earlier this week, stealing data such as social security numbers and e-mail addresses, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) said.

The regulator said that the operator of the sites, SK Communications, alleged the attack originated from computers in China based on their Internet Protocol addresses. IP addresses are the web equivalent of a street address or phone number.

The stolen data included user IDs, passwords, social security numbers, names, mobile phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Nate said the social security numbers and passwords are encrypted so that they are not available for illegal use.

South Korean police said on Thursday their investigation could take several months.

Kim Jie-won, a KCC official, said that if proven, the alleged attack would be the largest Internet hacking case to have taken place in South Korea.

The country is one of the most wired in the world and its citizens some of the most Internet-savvy. South Korea has a population of about 50 million people.

More than 80% of households have broadband access to the Internet, according to the country's statistical office.

South Korea has faced Internet attacks before, with blame frequently pinned on hackers operating from IP addresses in China. China has denied all charges of hacking in the past and said the country itself is a victim of hacking.

In May, South Korean prosecutors said that hackers in North Korea had broken into the computer network of a South Korean bank earlier this year.

The prosecutors said software used in the hacking was similar to that used in a 2009 attack that paralysed South Korean and US websites.

North Korea has flatly denied any responsibility for the attacks. - AP

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Cloud computing can save money for companies

Published: Thursday July 28, 2011 MYT 1:53:00 PM
Updated: Thursday July 28, 2011 MYT 1:54:39 PM



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WEBSTER:'Companies are (typically) spending about 73% of their budget to ensure these computer systems are running smoothly, while only 27% of the budget is spent on improving or innovating business processes.'

KUALA LUMPUR:

Cloud-computing solutions have organisations storing data in the "cloud" than on their own computer systems. So these organisations pay only for what they use - saving money on physical infrastructure expansion.
"A huge percentage of an organisation's budget goes to maintaining the existing computer infrastructure in its workplace," said David Webster, EMC president for South-East Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

"Companies are (typically) spending about 73% of their budget to ensure these computer systems are running smoothly, while only 27% of the budget is spent on improving or innovating business processes."
He said the challenge is to shrink the 73% portion and invest the savings on enhancing business processes. By doing so, organisations would have an efficient computer system and higher levels of productivity in the workplace.

The other thing that many organisations have to deal with is data deluge. According to Webster, the digital universe will soon contain a humongous amount of unstructured data, such as e-mail messages, images, audio and video.
"This will put a huge strain on company servers and will cause the number of IT personnel worldwide to increase by the tens of millions in about 10 years," he said.

These will translate into higher operating costs for organisations, and if left unchecked could affect profit margins or operating budgets.
Webster believes that cloud-computing solutions are a key technology to staving this off.
Organisations must look into cloud-computing solutions as a means of reducing costs, said information infrastructure technology and solutions provider EMC Corp.