# South Korean Diplomatic Academy Suffers Nine-Month Cyber Breach

*Published July 26, 2026*
*Source: [https://therecord.media/south-korea-cyberattack-foreign-ministry](https://therecord.media/south-korea-cyberattack-foreign-ministry)*

## Executive Summary

Hackers compromised South Korea's diplomatic academy's e-learning platform for nine months, stealing the personal data of Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees. The breach highlights ongoing cybersecurity challenges and has prompted efforts to strengthen security measures.

## Article

Unidentified hackers infiltrated South Korea's diplomatic academy's online education system, compromising the personal data of both former and current Ministry of Foreign Affairs employees. This breach, spanning from April 2025 to February 2026, was detected after a government authority alerted the ministry to unusual access patterns. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly shut down the compromised system, which remains offline. The breach involved the theft of user IDs, names, emails, and encrypted passwords, though sensitive information such as contact details and personal photographs were reportedly not affected. The attackers exploited a zero-day vulnerability along with misconfigured security settings, as reported by JoongAng Daily. The ministry noted the absence of a security update during the incident, which hampered its response efforts. The Korea National Diplomatic Academy plays a crucial role in training diplomatic service candidates and government officials, leading to widespread concern over the potential extent of the data exposure. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is still assessing the full scope of the accessed data and has pledged to enhance its security measures in collaboration with relevant authorities. While the ministry has not identified the attackers, North Korean cyber actors have historically been blamed for the majority of cyberattacks on South Korea's public institutions. This incident adds to a series of data breaches that have spurred South Korea to reform its digital security policies. Notably, South Korea's data protection regulator recently imposed a substantial fine on Coupang for a significant data breach, underscoring the country's commitment to improving data protection compliance ahead of the revised Personal Information Protection Act taking effect.