SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean authorities ordered on Friday SK Telecom to strengthen data security and imposed a fine after the country’s biggest mobile carrier was hit by a cyberattack that caused the leak of 26.96 million pieces of user data.
The measures come after SK Telecom in April disclosed that it had suffered a major leak of customer data caused by a malware attack.
The Ministry of Science and ICT said on Friday that it will impose a fine of up to 30 million won ($21,970), and SK Telecom must enforce security measures at least once a quarter, have its chief executive officer directly oversee data governance, and increase personnel and investment in data security.
“This… was a wake-up call for information protection not only in the domestic telecommunications industry but also in the overall network infrastructure,” Science Minister Yoo Sang-im said in a statement issued after an investigation by the ministry.
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won apologised last month for the data leak and SK Telecom said it would take full responsibility for any harm caused as a result of the breach, which has caused alarm among its 23 million users over the possible theft of personal and financial information.
The mobile carrier said it would start offering free universal subscriber identity module (USIM) replacements to all 23 million users for free at more than 2,600 retail stores nationwide following the cybersecurity breach.
About 9.39 million users have replaced their USIMs as of late June, according to SK Telecom.
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce LeeEditing by Ed Davies)
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