- Security breach and apparent data leak put SK Telecom into a tailspin
- But South Korea’s biggest mobile operator says it’s determined to right the ship, re-establish trust and be reborn as “faithful to the basics and responsible”
- Even if that means replacing up to 23 million SIM cards
- But customers are abandoning the SK Telecom ship
South Korea’s SK Telecom (SKT) is scrambling to reassure customers in the wake of a disastrous security breach and data leak that occurred on 19 April and has led to much soul-searching for the telco as well as, reportedly, the loss of tens of thousands of mobile service customers in the aftermath.
SKT’s problems started when it discovered that malware had infected its Home Subscriber Server (HSS) and an unknown volume of critical SIM-related information was extracted by the hackers, including authentication keys for up to 23 million SK Telecom mobile subscribers. The telco promptly reported the leak to the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) on 20 April and to the Personal Information Protection Commission on 22 April, since when the company has been forced into a series of rear-guard actions that will generate a cold sweat on the brows of its mobile operator peers.
