South Korean Defense Research Officials Being Probed for Data Leak

South Korean police will begin probing into a case pertaining to massive data leak involving two former defense research officials.

It has not been revealed what the data pertains to or who were the receipients of the leaked data.

On Thursday, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) accused the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) researchers of leaking massive amount of information using portable media storage devices before their retirement. They are currently living abroad, Yonhap reported.

It is still unclear exactly how much data and what kind of technologies have been leaked. Authorities have not yet detected any use of leaked data abroad.

In the case of a technology infringement, the agency could file a civil lawsuit.

The arms procurement agency is presently investigating 23 retirees who have records of using such devices or those who have been uncooperative with the probe.

After conducting a month-long audit into former and current researches, it was found that multiple officials copied work data without permission and violated other security regulations. They will now face due penalties.

The research center will beef up monitoring of retirees and officials who have access to core defense technologies. It had failed to carry out inspections for past three years and those responsible will face disciplinary measures.

Loopholes found in the institution's data protection system will now be upgraded.

"The ADD is actively cooperating with the investigation. We have assessed weak points in protecting defense technologies and set up extraordinary security measures to prevent similar cases from recurring," ADD President Nam Sae-kyu said during a press briefing.