The free academic paper similarity check service provided by the National Research Foundation of Korea has been suspended due to globally spreading PHP security vulnerabilities.

Due to limitations of the aging system developed in 2014, which makes security updates difficult, researchers are required to use alternative similarity check programs such as Copy Killer for the time being.

According to the National Research Foundation of Korea on November 1, the foundation suspended the Korea Citation Index (KCI) paper similarity check service starting from October 23.

The KCI paper similarity check service has been utilized by researchers and academic organizations to check manuscripts for plagiarism and similarity.

Because it could be used without any financial burden, it was mainly used by researchers and academic organizations that required similarity check results during the paper submission process.

The foundation explained that this measure is in accordance with government security recommendations regarding the PHP security vulnerabilities that have recently become a global issue.

The service was developed in 2014, and it is known that updating the PHP version is not easy. The foundation stated that it is reviewing countermeasures, such as consulting with the initial development company.

An official from the Research Foundation said, "We will find ways to rebuild the service as quickly as possible to minimize inconvenience for researchers."