Key Points
- South Korea fined its largest mobile carrier, SK Telecom, after a major data breach in April exposed nearly 27 million pieces of customer data.
- The company must pay a fine and implement stricter security measures, including CEO oversight.
- SK Telecom is offering free replacement USIM cards to all of its 23 million users.
- The company’s chairman has publicly apologized and taken full responsibility for any harm that may have been caused.
South Korean authorities have ordered the country’s top mobile carrier, SK Telecom, to pay a fine and overhaul its security after a massive cyberattack in April exposed nearly 27 million pieces of customer data.
The government’s investigation concluded that the company’s security was lacking. As a result, authorities imposed a fine of up to 30 million won (about $22,000) and demanded significant changes. SK Telecom must now conduct security checks every quarter, have its CEO personally oversee data governance, and increase both its staff and funding dedicated to security.
A government minister described the incident as a “wake-up call” for the entire country’s network infrastructure, underscoring the seriousness of the breach.
The cyberattack has alarmed SK Telecom’s 23 million users, who are worried about the potential theft of their personal and financial information. The company’s chairman, Chey Tae-won, publicly apologized last month for the leak and promised that the company would take full responsibility for any harm caused to its customers.
As a practical step, SK Telecom is offering free replacement USIM cards (the small chip in your phone that identifies you to the network) to all 23 million of its users. The company reported that as of late June, about 9.4 million people had already taken advantage of the offer and replaced their cards.
