The government has announced measures to prevent the theft of personal information online.

As many as 35-million members of the social communication network “Cyworld” and the Web portal site “Nate' became web hacking victims last month when their personal information was stolen online.

With worry growing over such theft, a huge number of Internet users rushed to a Web site where they could check if their resident registration numbers were stolen.

The kernel of the government’s online anti-theft measures is to ban the current practice that requires people to type in their resident registration numbers when joining a Web site.

The government will require Web site operators to encipher passwords, phone numbers, resident registration numbers, bank account numbers, addresses and emails of their members.

It will also establish a comprehensive system that allows Internet users to easily delete their personal information online.