Hackers have had access to South Korea's diplomatic training system for about nine months, pilfering personal data belonging to former and current employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, authorities said.
The breach affected the Korea National Diplomatic Academy's online learning platform between April 2025 and February 2026. Officials discovered the breach after receiving a warning about unusual activity and immediately shut down the system.
The stolen information may include users' IDs, names, email addresses, and encrypted passwords. The ministry said sensitive data, such as contact details and personal photos, was not affected.
Reports say the attackers compromised the system by exploiting a zero-day flaw in the server software and weak security settings. The ministry said no security update was available at the time, making it harder to stop the attack.
Officials are still investigating what information was accessed or stolen. The ministry has not disclosed who was responsible but said it will strengthen its cybersecurity to help prevent future attacks.