Amid a surge in personal information breach incidents, measures have been put in place for the government to initiate ex officio investigations even if companies attempt to cover them up.
Choi Woo-hyuk, Director of the Information Protection and Network Division at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated during the National Assembly audit of the Science, Technology and Information Committee and the Korea Communications Commission on the 15th, "As of October 1, a mechanism has been established that allows for immediate investigation based on the decision of the Personal Information Breach Incident Investigation and Deliberation Committee if there are signs of an incident, even in the absence of a breach report."
This was in response to suspicions that LG Uplus discarded servers despite signs of hacking, thereby concealing the incident, and concerns that other companies might exploit similar loopholes.
Director Choi said, "During the LG Uplus breach incident, we could not issue a data preservation order if no incident report had been filed." He added, "However, with the recent amendment to the law, starting October 1, we can issue data preservation orders and conduct ex officio investigations based on signs of an incident, even if companies do not file reports."
He further noted, "Since October, data preservation orders have been issued on the same day for most incoming reports," adding, "We will ensure processing without any gaps."
Meanwhile, the amended Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, which comprehensively strengthens information protection regulations from cyber breach prevention to post-incident sanctions, along with its enforcement decree, officially took effect on October 1. Consequently, the government is now empowered to conduct ex officio investigations related to personal information breaches.
in TECH
