South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has fallen victim to a highly sensitive data breach.
Lee’s personal information is said to have been accessible online for months, an investigation by the South Korean public broadcaster KBS revealed on Monday.
This included passport numbers, dates of birth and details regarding the validity of the passports.
According to the report, those affected included not only the president himself, but also his wife, security advisers, office staff, bodyguards, his personal physician and several journalists.
KBS reported that the data had been published on a paid security platform in an Excel file titled “Passenger List (Republic of Korea-Belgium)”.
The file is believed to have been the passenger list for the presidential aircraft during Lee’s trip to Europe in June.
The file had already been uploaded a week before the trip began and was available for download by paying users.
The President’s Office has announced an investigation into the matter and immediate countermeasures.
South Korea is regarded as one of the most technologically advanced and highly connected countries in the world, but it has repeatedly come under criticism for security breaches and data leaks relating to the protection of personal data and cybersecurity.
