A hacker suspected of stealing customer data last year from Hyundai Capital, a subsidiary of South Korea’s top automaker, has been arrested in the Philippines, police here said Wednesday.
The 39-year-old man, identified only by his surname Shin, allegedly broke into the computer system of the financial firm 43,376 times between February and April of last year and stole personal information of nearly 1.75 million customers, police said.
After being apprehended by Philippine authorities, Shin was extradited to South Korea on Dec. 14, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) said. He has been formally detained pending trial.
Shin launched the cyber attack with two other culprits, surnamed Cheong and Huh, the SMPA said. He then allegedly pocketed 10 million won ($9,300), which was part of 100 million won the suspects stole from the firm.
It allegedly took less than 90 minutes for Shin, a self-taught hacking expert, to break into the system and steal the information, the SMPA said.
Shin has lived in the Southeast Asian country since 2007 after fleeing South Korea to escape investigation for six other hacking crimes, they added.
The SMPA said they will further question Shin and are pursuing Cheong, who is believed to be living overseas. (Yonhap News)
