North Korean hackers suspected in South Korean golf club data breach

Personal data belonging to roughly 100,000 customers was stolen from a South Korean golf club's website in a cyberattack that police suspect is tied to North Korean state-backed hackers, The Korea Times reported Sunday.

The breach is the latest sign of North Korean cyber operatives targeting civilian networks inside South Korea. South Korea's defense white paper estimated about 8,400 hackers operate under North Korean state authority as of 2024.

Lee & Lee Country Club, located in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, had its website compromised by attackers who gained access to an array of sensitive customer records, The Korea Times reported. Stolen data included names, dates of birth, gender, user IDs, passwords, phone numbers, email addresses and home addresses.

The Korean National Police Agency is leading the investigation. Authorities said the breach came to light while officers were probing major North Korean hacking networks, according to The Korea Times.

Investigators believe the golf club's server was infected with malware distributed by a hacking group operating under North Korean authorities, the newspaper reported.

South Korea's defense white paper put the number of hackers working under North Korean state direction at roughly 8,400 as of 2024, illustrating the breadth of Pyongyang's cyber apparatus.

The Korean National Police Agency has not announced any arrests. The investigation is ongoing.