Korea to tackle online ID number leaks

The Korean government will abolish a system that requires citizens to use their real names and resident registration numbers when posting messages on commenting online. The move is part of the security overhauls currently being planned by Ministry of Public Administration & Security (MOPAS).

Last month, personal information of about 35 million users of the country’s popular internet and social media sites Nate and Cyworld was stolen during a hacking incident. The information included user IDs, passwords, names, resident registration numbers, mobile phone numbers and email address.

In addition, Korea Communications Commission (KCC) and the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) acknowledged that 14,260 resident registration numbers were accessible on the internet last year.

In the data KCC and KISA submitted to the lawmakers, the leaked information included 6869 extracted by Chinese hackers. The total number of known leaked resident registration numbers has been fast increasing every year – from 1503 in 2008 to 7033 in 2009.

It was revealed that 7543 were leaked so far this year. An intelligence agency said leaked ID numbers from Chinese web sites had been used to post pro-North Korean messages online.

The real-name system, introduced in 2007, makes it compulsory for people who post on web sites with more than 100,000 visitors per day to use their real names and resident registration numbers. The system has also benefited the government as it ensures the complaints and feedback it receives online are genuine.

Dr Sung Jung-hee, former Assistant Mayor and CIO of Seoul, told FutureGov in 2008 that the system benefited the two online forums ran by the Metropolitan government, making both a trustworthy place for people to communicate with the government.

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