Hacking attempts against Constitutional Court in S. Korea on rise since 2017

Seoul, Oct 5 (IANS) The number of hacking attempts against the Constitutional Court has been gradually rising since 2017, data showed on Sunday, raising concerns over cybersecurity in public organisations.

Citing data submitted by the Constitutional Court, Rep. Choo Mi-ae of the ruling Democratic Party said there have been around 1.16 million cases of attempted cyberattacks against the court since 2017, reports Yonhap news agency.

The attempts, all of which were detected and blocked, came to 85,000 in 2017 but surged to 187,000 in 2024, the report showed.

The figure stood at around 80,000 during the January-August period of 2025.

"Cyber threats continue to grow. We need to bolster our alertness and enhance security readiness," Choo said.

Meanwhile, South Korea's cybersecurity watchdog is facing a workforce shortage amid the soaring number of cyber threats reported by local businesses, a lawmaker said on Sunday.

Citing data submitted by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), Rep. Kim Jang-kyom of the main opposition People Power Party said the watchdog received 1,887 reports of security breaches from South Korean companies in 2024, up 47 percent from a year earlier.

During the January-August period of 2025, the number of breach reports stood at 1,501, the data showed.

Despite the surge in cyberattacks reported by businesses, the number of response personnel came to just 132, up only nine from 2022.

Over the same period, South Korea's budget for hacking and virus response systems rose 22 percent to 73.6 billion won (US$52.4 million), according to the lawmaker.

"The fact that the number of investigators at KISA increased by a single digit over the years indicates the country lacks readiness against such threats," Kim said.

—IANS

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