The Financial Supervisory Service is preparing to refer Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company, which was unable to provide key services after a ransomware attack last year, to the sanctions review committee. Once the review is completed, the level of sanctions against Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company is expected to be decided.
According to the financial authorities on the 10th, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is said to be conducting a legal review to refer Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company to the sanctions review committee. The FSS has not yet finalized a specific schedule for the referral, but it is accelerating its internal review.
Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company suffered a system failure in July last year due to a ransomware attack. Ransomware, a portmanteau of ransom and software, is a cyberattack in which hackers infiltrate or encrypt the computers and servers of individuals or corporations and then demand money in exchange for recovery.
Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company provides guarantees for mobile phone installment activations and for monthly rent and jeonse deposits in real estate, as well as guarantees for loans from financial institutions. On July 17 last year, Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company normalized customer-facing operations by restoring its core IT systems, and on Jan. 20 this year it completed restoration of all systems.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) conducted an on-site inspection of Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company for a month starting in August last year. At the time, the FSS examined the possibility of external leakage of customers' personal information held by Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company. It also reviewed whether the company had properly established and operated its information security framework in accordance with the Electronic Financial Supervision Regulations.
An official at the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said, "We are reviewing, based on past cases, what level of sanctions would be appropriate from a legal standpoint."