University of Seoul Website Exposed Users to Malware-Inducing Screen for Four Days

- Estimated to have been exposed since the afternoon of October 30... University officials recognized it this morning
- Induced malware infection... Investigating causes including intrusion routes

It has been confirmed that a fake robot verification screen inducing malware infections appeared on the official website of the University of Seoul for four days.

According to the University of Seoul, from the afternoon of October 30 to today (November 3), accessing the university's main website triggered a fake reCAPTCHA screen disguised as a normal security verification procedure.

This screen impersonates a standard verification process to check whether a user is human, using a method that tricks users into executing malicious commands themselves.

Following the instructions displayed on the screen—pressing the Windows key plus R, Ctrl plus V, and Enter in sequence—executes malicious commands on the PC, potentially leading to malware infection.

However, it was confirmed that university officials only realized this after four days.

An official from the University of Seoul told SBS in a phone call, "We estimate that the screen began appearing from the afternoon of October 30, but we became aware of the issue this morning."

The official explained, "The fake verification screen appeared when accessing the main website, not the login screen," adding, "We took measures starting at 2 p.m. today to ensure the screen no longer appears."

However, the official stated that the exact cause of the breach, such as how the fake verification screen was inserted into the website, is still under investigation.

The university stated that there have been no reports of personal information leaks so far, but it remains unconfirmed whether users' PCs were actually infected with malware.

Through an emergency notice, the University of Seoul advised users who followed the instructions on the fake verification screen to the end to immediately disconnect from the internet and stop using their PCs.

It also instructed users to format their PCs after backing up data and to change passwords for portals and emails used on those PCs from another secure device.

The university has decided to provide PC formatting support for students and faculty members.

Students can apply through the university administration system and visit the campus IT help center to receive support.

The University of Seoul Student Council also stated that measures have been taken so that the fake verification screen no longer appears, and added that it will inform campus members of follow-up measures.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.