588 hacking attempts detected this year alone; department systems hit hardest

99% of leaked data from 2021 incident; no cases referred to investigators

Seoul National University has suffered 28 hacking incidents over the past six years, resulting in the leak of more than 1,100 personal records. Shown is the main gate of Seoul National University. [Yonhap]
Seoul National University has suffered 28 hacking incidents over the past six years, resulting in the leak of more than 1,100 personal records. Shown is the main gate of Seoul National University. [Yonhap]

Seoul National University has suffered 28 hacking incidents over the past six years, resulting in the leak of more than 1,100 personal records, according to data submitted to the National Assembly. Despite more than 500 hacking attempts targeting the university every year, it has never referred a personal data breach to law enforcement for investigation.

The data, submitted to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Baek Seung-a of the National Assembly's Education Committee, showed that 28 confirmed hacking incidents occurred at Seoul National University between 2021 and this year.

By year, the incidents broke down as follows: 8 in 2021, 10 in 2022, none in 2023, 1 in 2024, 5 in 2025, and 4 so far this year.

Department systems were the most frequently targeted, accounting for 19 of the 28 incidents. Laboratory systems were hit in 6 cases, research institutes in 2, and institutional-level systems in 1.

A total of 1,132 personal records were leaked through hacking during the same period. Of those, 1,130 were compromised in a single incident in 2021.

In that breach, hackers installed malware capable of issuing remote commands to university servers and stole identity information and portal login credentials belonging to members of the university community.

The remaining two records were leaked during a 2024 research institute hack, with researchers' biographical profiles and resume files among the affected data. No personal data leaks have been confirmed in connection with any other hacking incidents to date.

Hacking attempts targeting Seoul National University have also been on the rise. The number of attempts detected and blocked through security monitoring grew from 561 in 2024 to 575 last year and has already reached 588 so far this year.

The university said those figures reflect attack attempts detected and blocked during security monitoring — not actual breaches — adding that it "prevented the spread of incidents and completed immediate security measures through real-time response."

Seoul National University said it promptly reports confirmed personal data leaks to the Ministry of Education or the Personal Information Protection Commission. However, it said it has not referred any personal data breach cases from the past six years to law enforcement for investigation.


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