Nearly 3,400 hacking attempts were made targeting the Foreign Ministry and its affiliate organs to steal confidential diplomatic information this year, government data showed Tuesday. 

According to data submitted by the ministry to Rep. Lee Tae-kyu of the minor opposition People’s Party for a parliamentary audit, 3,399 hacking attempts against the ministry and its overseas missions had been detected as of Aug. 31. 

The largest portion of the IP addresses used for the attacks could be traced to China, at 1,206, with the US closely trailing at 1,125. But it is difficult to detect the exact origin of the attacks, as hackers often use proxy addresses to conceal their identity. 

“As the Foreign Ministry and the overseas missions carry more sensitive information than other ministries, the government should come up with measures to construct a system and prevent the leak of state secrets due to cyberattacks, including hacking,” said Lee. 

The number of hacking attempts targeting the ministry was reported to be 4,660 in 2016, which jumped to 9,394 in 2017, then dropped to 4,552 in 2018 and 4,751 last year. 

The sharp increase in 2017 appears to be linked to the heightened tension between the US and North Korea, as well as frozen bilateral relations between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a US anti-missile system here, which China viewed as a threat to its national security.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)