South Korean Regulator Imposes 60 Million Won Fine On Bithumb

The Korea Communications Commission decided to impose 60 million won fine ($54,970) on the operator of Bithumb, the biggest Bitcoin, and ethereum virtual currency exchange in South Korea, for its proclaimed negligence in the security of its clients’ information.

The organization has also proposed punishment to the people who are found guilty of the negligence at the exchange. In addition, the Korean Commission orders the company to set up measures to make sure no further violations take place in the future.

The Korean won is presently the third most traded currency for bitcoin, and Bithumb has around 80% of the domestic marketplace share. In August the crypto-currency trading volume outshined Kosdaq, the country’s leading stock marketplace.

The KCC gave an explanation that, in accordance with the present data and Communications Network Act, the penalties are based on BTC Korea.com’s average sales between 2014 and 2016, which is 2.72 billion won. However, reviewers say that this estimation is not right. “The punishment is too light, given a spiky rise in crypto-currency transactions,” a professional told the publication.

The organization pointed out that it is planning to amend this Act and increase the penalties for companies disclosing clients’ private information in the future.

Bithumb’s Data BreachesAccording to the Korean Communication Commission, hackers stole the confidential information of Bithumb’s clients twice. Korean Internet and Security Agency (KISA) investigated about this and exposed that Bithumb disclosed the information of 31,506 clients in April and 3,434 clients in July.

“We took into consideration the fact that the legal responsibility took place due to break down to fulfill the security clause and was directly or indirectly exploited by the hackers. “Confidential information was disclosed and financial damage occurred”, The KCC described the condition to the official of the agency

“The disciplinary action was taken as the operator did not comply with protective steps, making it vulnerable to hacks and causing leaks of confidential data and financial harm.”

The publication further expressed “During the investigation, BTC Korea.com was not competent to identify illicit efforts to hack confidential information, including stored personal information on a personal computer without encrypting the personal information file, and did not revise their antivirus software.”

Guidelines In progressAt present, crypto-currency exchanges in South Korea are mainly unregulated. Crypto-currencies are not renowned as monetary products and there are no rules to look after who is investing in it.

Because of the quick increase in crypto trading volumes, the government is dynamically discussing their regulation. Last week the Ministry of Justice being put in charge of a task force to lead regulation. A lot of measures have been considered including an absolute prohibition on all crypto transactions. However, the government has determined to make an exemption to permit crypto exchanges that meet certain conditions to operate officially.

Source: http://www.unkrypted.com/south-korean-regulator-imposes-fine-on-bithumb/