Korea logs highest number of network security breaches in August

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap)- Nearly half of all computer network security breaches in the world last month occurred in South Korea, an industry report showed Thursday, tarnishing the nation's image as an information technology (IT) stronghold.

A network monitoring survey conducted recently by AhnLab Inc., the nation's
largest security solutions company, showed that 48 percent of all network
security threats last month occurred in South Korea. The report did not elaborate
on the number of breaches.

South Korea was trailed by the United States and Japan, with 17 percent and 13
percent, respectively. Hong Kong and India followed, with 7 percent and 5
percent, the report said.

South Korea's notably high rate was attributed to a conscious lack of effort in
securing companies' and other agencies' networks through fail-safe patches, the
report assessed.

The report also noted that the five major breach points among most South Korean
networks had been previously exposed to attacks over the past three years, and
that they had not been been protected with security measures.

"The high rate is inevitable in a nation with such an abundant IT
infrastructure," an AhnLab official said, stressing the need for increased
IT-security awareness.

South Korea is one of the world's most wired nations, with more than two-thirds
of the country's homes connected to high-speed Internet.