http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/tech/200602/kt2006022817142511780.htm
By Kim Tae-gyu Staff Reporter 02-28-2006 To counter the problem of identity theft, the Korean government will block the backdoor Internet pathway from abroad, which were used to steal personal data by getting bypass links to the country's Internet network. The Ministry of Information and Communication Tuesday revealed steps aimed at controlling the nation's rampant personal data leakage to overseas countries, especially China. ``Since last week, in collaboration with Internet service providers, we already intercepted 2,600 illegal IPs, which were found to be the main routes for penetrating the Korean network,'' Lee Sung-ok, director general at the ministry, said. Identity theft en masse surfaced last month after complaints piled up that hackers stole private data, including resident registration numbers, from Koreans in order to subscribe to ``Lineage,'' the popular online game. Chinese hackers are suspected of leading the cyber crimes via a bypass link based on unlawful IPs, an alternative path other than the legitimate, primary one. ``In the future, we will continue to keep tabs on such illegal IPs geared toward breaking into the Korean network and stealing personal information,'' Lee said. Lee said the ministry will also urge local Internet firms to use an alternative system other then resident registration numbers, the Korean version of social security numbers, for signing up to Web sites. ``Furthermore, we will recommend Web sites use cell phones as a certification method to deter illegal subscribers. They can require people to enter their mobile phone numbers together with resident numbers when signing up,'' Lee noted. ``The site then will send certification figures via mobile handsets and users will be have to enter the multi-digit number on the Web site for user verification,'' he added. The Chinese government will be asked to delete the personal data of many Koreans in circulation in China's cyberspace, he said. To prevent the recurrence of massive personal data leakage, the ministry also unveiled a package of measures including propagation of security patches as well as firewalls. ``Currently, the penetration rates of security patches stand at just 38 percent. We will increase the figure 80 percent and mandate gaming companies to install Web firewalls,'' Lee said. Toward that end, the country's main portal and game sites will have to be equipped with programs that automatically install security patches on subscribers' computers. The ministry also looks to check the security of the country's 70,000 most-visited Web sites every day to shield them from onslaughts by unscrupulous crackers. _________________________________ InfoSec News v2.0 - Coming Soon! http://www.infosecnews.org
