TÜV Rheinland Group Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (TUV1765188618)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the TÜV Rheinland Group breach identified under incident ID TUV1765188618.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of TÜV Rheinland Group's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tuv-rheinland-group, the number of followers: 200000, the industry type: Public Safety and the number of employees: 17587 employees

After the initial compromise, the video explains how Rankiteo's incident engine converts technical details into a normalized incident score. The incident score before the incident was 787 and after the incident was 721 with a difference of -66 which is could be a good indicator of the severity and impact of the incident.

In the next step of the video, we will analyze in more details the incident and the impact it had on TÜV Rheinland Group and their customers.

On 08 December 2025, a cybersecurity incident called "South Korea Overhauls Information-Security and Privacy Certification Regime Following High-Profile Breaches" came to light.

South Korea is preparing to overhaul its information-security and privacy certification regime for companies holding large volumes of personal data, following a string of high-profile breaches at certified firms.

Impact assessments are still underway, so the full scope is not yet clear.

In response, and began remediation that includes Revamped audit methods, expanded technical and on-site inspections, self-checks for security vulnerabilities, and stakeholders are being briefed through Official statement released.

The case underscores how Ongoing (on-site inspections planned for Q1 2026), teams are taking away lessons such as High-profile breaches at certified firms highlighted gaps in the existing certification regime, necessitating stricter oversight and mandatory compliance for high-risk operators, and recommending next steps like Companies should prepare for stricter audits, self-assess security vulnerabilities, and ensure compliance with the new ISMS-P certification requirements to avoid denial or cancellation of certification, with advisories going out to stakeholders covering Regulatory changes announced; affected entities advised to conduct self-checks and prepare for audits.

Finally, we try to match the incident with the MITRE ATT&CK framework to see if there is any correlation between the incident and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a knowledge base of techniques and sub-techniques that are used to describe the tactics and procedures of cyber adversaries. It is a powerful tool for understanding the threat landscape and for developing effective defense strategies.

Rankiteo's analysis has identified several MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques associated with this incident, each with varying levels of confidence based on available evidence. Under the Initial Access tactic, the analysis identified Trusted Relationship (T1199) with moderate to high confidence (70%), with evidence including high-profile breaches at certified firms, and iSMS-P certification mandatory for high-risk operators and Valid Accounts (T1078) with moderate confidence (60%), with evidence including gaps in existing certification regime, and inadequate security measures in certified firms. Under the Exfiltration tactic, the analysis identified Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol (T1048) with moderate confidence (50%), with evidence including high-profile breaches at certified firms, and personal data compromised and Automated Exfiltration (T1020) with lower confidence (40%), supported by evidence indicating large volumes of personal data held by affected entities. Under the Credential Access tactic, the analysis identified Unsecured Credentials (T1552) with moderate to high confidence (70%), with evidence including inadequate security measures in certified firms, and self-checks for security vulnerabilities. Under the Defense Evasion tactic, the analysis identified Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools (T1562.001) with moderate confidence (60%), with evidence including gaps in existing certification regime, and serious deficiencies detected in audits. These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.