South korea: South Korea's privacy watchdog announced Thursday that machinery company HD Construction Equipment has been fined 73.5 million won (US$53,200) due to a personal information leak affecting over 9,000 workers.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Personal Information Protection Commission also imposed a fine of 4.8 million won on HD Construction Equipment's affiliate, HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering, which served as the access point for the breach. The investigation revealed that an unidentified hacker breached the mobile equipment management server of HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering in March 2024, subsequently accessing HD Construction Equipment's system.

The hacker managed to steal the personal data of 9,503 workers from HD Construction Equipment and its contractor companies, including their names and employee identification numbers. The regulator highlighted that the companies failed to restrict access between their systems even when such access was unnecessary, which facilitated the data theft.