Science ministry launches joint probe into Douzone Bizon data breach

The science ministry said Monday it had launched a public-private investigation into a pair of security breaches at Douzone Bizon, the corporate software maker that reported the intrusions on Oct. 16 and Oct. 21.

The Ministry of Science and ICT assembled the joint team on Sunday and began its investigation the same day, according to the ministry's release. The team is led by the ministry's information security and network policy director and includes staff from the ministry and the Korea Internet & Security Agency, known as KISA, alongside outside cybersecurity, system and network specialists.

The decision followed an emergency meeting of the committee that reviews breach investigations, which concluded the incidents were serious enough to warrant a joint response. The committee is a statutory body created when the Information and Communications Network Act took effect on Oct. 1.

The ministry said it weighed the potential for damage to spread to client companies before ordering the joint team, and that the findings will be disclosed to the public.

KISA and the ministry asked Douzone Bizon to preserve related materials immediately after each of the two reports.

Douzone Bizon, which supplies enterprise resource planning, accounting and groupware software, has said it found unauthorized external access to one of its development servers and is examining whether information on client-company employees was leaked. The company said it has cut off the external access route and taken steps to protect the accounts involved, and that it is contacting potentially affected clients individually through a dedicated consultation channel.

"We deeply apologize for the concern caused to our customers," a Douzone Bizon official said. "We will cooperate fully with the authorities' investigation and do our utmost on the measures needed to protect customers."

The company said it is carrying out about 16 billion won ($12.1 million) worth of information security investment, is re-examining its procedures for managing data in development environments and its access control system, and will comply with any orders the joint team issues to raise its security level after the probe.