Lotte Card hack exposes data of 3 million users The Korea Herald
pBusiness Lotte Card hack exposes data of 3 million usersppPublished Sept 18 2025 152340
Updated Sept 18 2025 173058
ppppLink copiedpp
ppKoreas fifthlargest card issuer hit by 200gigabyte breach with 280000 customers at direct riskppLotte Card said a hacking attack compromised the personal data of 297 million users marking the biggest data breach this yearppCEO Cho Jwajin on Thursday disclosed the findings of a probe by the Financial Supervisory Service and Financial Security Institute in the first public announcement since regulators began investigating on Sept 2 He apologized to customers and outlined the companys responseppThe probe found that more than 200 gigabytes of data had been breached Cho said adding that the total number of users affected is 297 million with the breach occurring on the companys online payments serverppThe stolen information comprises that which was generated and collected during online transactions processed through the compromised server between July 22 and Aug 27 It includes connection information virtual payment codes internal identification numbers and the type of easy payment service usedppOf those affected about 280000 customers face direct risks of unauthorized use because their card numbers expiration dates and security codes were exposed while registering payment information online or via ecommerce platforms Cho saidppNo unauthorized transactions have been detected so farppLotte Card has started notifying those most at risk to suspend and reissue their cards with about 55000 having completed the process as of WednesdayppThe remaining 269 million users whose leaked data is considered less sensitive face no risk of illegal use and do not need to reissue their cards CEO Cho Jwajin said He added that offline transactions were not affectedppLotte Card is Koreas fifthlargest card issuer serving more than 96 million customers and processing about 10 percent of the nations daily credit card spendingppAbout onethird of its users were affected with over 200 gigabytes of data stolen more than 100 times the 17 gigabytes initially reported and over 20 times the amount taken in the recent SK Telecom USIM server hackppThe company said it would take full responsibility We will not pass on any losses to customers Cho said adding that even in cases of secondary damage if found to be related we will provide full compensationppThe company will offer all affected customers a 10month interestfree installment plan through the end of the year free monitoring for financial damage and for the 280000 users prioritized for reissuance a full waiver of next years annual feesppInvestigations found that lax cybersecurity management worsened the breach Attackers first scanned the payments server for vulnerabilities on Aug 12 installed malicious code the next day and exfiltrated 17 gigabytes of data on Aug 14 and 15ppSeparately 200 gigabytes of personal data was stolen between Aug 15 and 27 with attackers using a proxyenabled web shell on the payments server to run a file transfer protocol and to repeatedly extract transaction log files Only 56 percent of the 2700 leaked files were encryptedppLotte Card did not detect the intrusion until a routine server check on Aug 26 It finally confirmed the breach on Aug 31 leaving the system exposed for nearly two weeks Exposure could have been greater had the breach been discovered laterppWhat makes the case more troubling is that the breach was preventable but allowed to occur due to negligent security oversight The company said the exploited vulnerability was first discovered in 2017 Although a security patch was distributed that year the company said that one server used for a rarely accessed overseas payment service was missed during the patching process leaving a critical hole unaddressed for yearsppCEO Cho Jwajin acknowledged the gravity of the situation and vowed a sweeping overhaul of the companys systemsppWe will use this as an opportunity to fundamentally reform not just security but the companys entire management framework he saidppCho pledged to invest 110 billion won 794 million over the next five years to strengthen information security raising the security budget to what he called the industrys highest at 15 percent of total IT spendingppHe also vowed to institutionalize preventive measures by creating an internal red team and overhauling IT infrastructure with a focus on consumer protection By yearend the company plans to replace servers upgrade core systems and carry out a companywide personnel shakeupppKorea finds efforts to work with Cambodia police tough goingppFollowing the death of a South Korean university student in Cambodia in August the government is stepping up efforts to deal with the increase in abductions of Korean nationals there but say progress with police is slowppIn his five years Chung Euisun has cemented Hyundais global topthree rankppChief justice attends audit but stays silent during questionsppSeoul rat complaints double in 3 yearsppBritish Council Koreas new director accelerates UKKorea cultural exchangeppEthereum cofounder Hoskinson eyes S Korea for blockchainAI collaborationppDiplomatic CircuitppThe royal who makes film festivals matter to kidsppHerald InterviewppQuick ReadppLatest business news delivered in a 2minute readppSeoul IntimacyppSex and dating in KoreappInside Gen ZppGiving Koreas new generation a voiceppKparenting 101ppDive into the world of Korean parentingppRising home prices in Seoul prompt speculation of new curbs after holidaysppUber bets on Naver partnership to break Kakaos 90 ridehailing gripppFrom Baby Shark to GDragon Koreas next wave of IPO hopefulsppConsensus reached on foreign exchange risks in 350b investment deal industry ministerppGlobal rally lifts sentiment as Korean markets set to reopenppBTS Jungkook Jimin reach milestones with solo effortsppKorea Glow Up How beauty antiaging industry is powering South Koreas medical tourismppSeoul struggles to respond to rise in Cambodia abductionsppKorean YouTuber claims she was discriminated against at a New York McDonaldsppHong Rahee RM make list of most influential figures in Korean art marketpp
Address Huamro 4gil 10 YongsanguSeoul Korea
Tel 8227270114
Online newspaper registration No Seoul 아03711
pp
Date of registration 20150428
Publisher Editor Choi JinYoung
Juvenile Protection Manager Choi Hesuk
ppThe Korea Herald by Herald Corporation Copyright Herald Corporation All Rights Reservedp
Updated Sept 18 2025 173058
ppppLink copiedpp
ppKoreas fifthlargest card issuer hit by 200gigabyte breach with 280000 customers at direct riskppLotte Card said a hacking attack compromised the personal data of 297 million users marking the biggest data breach this yearppCEO Cho Jwajin on Thursday disclosed the findings of a probe by the Financial Supervisory Service and Financial Security Institute in the first public announcement since regulators began investigating on Sept 2 He apologized to customers and outlined the companys responseppThe probe found that more than 200 gigabytes of data had been breached Cho said adding that the total number of users affected is 297 million with the breach occurring on the companys online payments serverppThe stolen information comprises that which was generated and collected during online transactions processed through the compromised server between July 22 and Aug 27 It includes connection information virtual payment codes internal identification numbers and the type of easy payment service usedppOf those affected about 280000 customers face direct risks of unauthorized use because their card numbers expiration dates and security codes were exposed while registering payment information online or via ecommerce platforms Cho saidppNo unauthorized transactions have been detected so farppLotte Card has started notifying those most at risk to suspend and reissue their cards with about 55000 having completed the process as of WednesdayppThe remaining 269 million users whose leaked data is considered less sensitive face no risk of illegal use and do not need to reissue their cards CEO Cho Jwajin said He added that offline transactions were not affectedppLotte Card is Koreas fifthlargest card issuer serving more than 96 million customers and processing about 10 percent of the nations daily credit card spendingppAbout onethird of its users were affected with over 200 gigabytes of data stolen more than 100 times the 17 gigabytes initially reported and over 20 times the amount taken in the recent SK Telecom USIM server hackppThe company said it would take full responsibility We will not pass on any losses to customers Cho said adding that even in cases of secondary damage if found to be related we will provide full compensationppThe company will offer all affected customers a 10month interestfree installment plan through the end of the year free monitoring for financial damage and for the 280000 users prioritized for reissuance a full waiver of next years annual feesppInvestigations found that lax cybersecurity management worsened the breach Attackers first scanned the payments server for vulnerabilities on Aug 12 installed malicious code the next day and exfiltrated 17 gigabytes of data on Aug 14 and 15ppSeparately 200 gigabytes of personal data was stolen between Aug 15 and 27 with attackers using a proxyenabled web shell on the payments server to run a file transfer protocol and to repeatedly extract transaction log files Only 56 percent of the 2700 leaked files were encryptedppLotte Card did not detect the intrusion until a routine server check on Aug 26 It finally confirmed the breach on Aug 31 leaving the system exposed for nearly two weeks Exposure could have been greater had the breach been discovered laterppWhat makes the case more troubling is that the breach was preventable but allowed to occur due to negligent security oversight The company said the exploited vulnerability was first discovered in 2017 Although a security patch was distributed that year the company said that one server used for a rarely accessed overseas payment service was missed during the patching process leaving a critical hole unaddressed for yearsppCEO Cho Jwajin acknowledged the gravity of the situation and vowed a sweeping overhaul of the companys systemsppWe will use this as an opportunity to fundamentally reform not just security but the companys entire management framework he saidppCho pledged to invest 110 billion won 794 million over the next five years to strengthen information security raising the security budget to what he called the industrys highest at 15 percent of total IT spendingppHe also vowed to institutionalize preventive measures by creating an internal red team and overhauling IT infrastructure with a focus on consumer protection By yearend the company plans to replace servers upgrade core systems and carry out a companywide personnel shakeupppKorea finds efforts to work with Cambodia police tough goingppFollowing the death of a South Korean university student in Cambodia in August the government is stepping up efforts to deal with the increase in abductions of Korean nationals there but say progress with police is slowppIn his five years Chung Euisun has cemented Hyundais global topthree rankppChief justice attends audit but stays silent during questionsppSeoul rat complaints double in 3 yearsppBritish Council Koreas new director accelerates UKKorea cultural exchangeppEthereum cofounder Hoskinson eyes S Korea for blockchainAI collaborationppDiplomatic CircuitppThe royal who makes film festivals matter to kidsppHerald InterviewppQuick ReadppLatest business news delivered in a 2minute readppSeoul IntimacyppSex and dating in KoreappInside Gen ZppGiving Koreas new generation a voiceppKparenting 101ppDive into the world of Korean parentingppRising home prices in Seoul prompt speculation of new curbs after holidaysppUber bets on Naver partnership to break Kakaos 90 ridehailing gripppFrom Baby Shark to GDragon Koreas next wave of IPO hopefulsppConsensus reached on foreign exchange risks in 350b investment deal industry ministerppGlobal rally lifts sentiment as Korean markets set to reopenppBTS Jungkook Jimin reach milestones with solo effortsppKorea Glow Up How beauty antiaging industry is powering South Koreas medical tourismppSeoul struggles to respond to rise in Cambodia abductionsppKorean YouTuber claims she was discriminated against at a New York McDonaldsppHong Rahee RM make list of most influential figures in Korean art marketpp
Address Huamro 4gil 10 YongsanguSeoul Korea
Tel 8227270114
Online newspaper registration No Seoul 아03711
pp
Date of registration 20150428
Publisher Editor Choi JinYoung
Juvenile Protection Manager Choi Hesuk
ppThe Korea Herald by Herald Corporation Copyright Herald Corporation All Rights Reservedp
