[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] A 16-year-old high school student in Vietnam has shocked the public after allegedly using self-taught hacking skills to steal about 20 million personal records from state data.
According to Vietnamese media outlets, including VnExpress, the 16-year-old student, identified only as A and living in Nghe An Province, is under police investigation for allegedly breaking into the national immunization database and stealing and selling large volumes of personal data.
Police said on the 10th that they had opened a criminal case against the student on charges of illegally providing and using computer and telecommunications network information, as well as illegally accessing another person's computer network, telecommunications network, and electronic devices.
Earlier, police discovered online posts advertising the sale of large amounts of personal data in a private community.
The posts reportedly advertised the sale of large-scale data, including personal information belonging to residents of Lam Dong Province.
After tracking the suspect, police identified and arrested the 16-year-old high school student, A.
Investigators found that A had never received any formal professional training.
He reportedly taught himself programming through online materials, built his own software, and then exploited a security vulnerability in the National Immunization Information System to break in.
The system is a nationwide vaccination registration database operated by the Vietnam Ministry of Health.
Investigators believe A collected and sold about 20 million personal records nationwide. However, he allegedly made only about 100 million dong, or roughly 5.8 million won, from the scheme.
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
