South Korea's Digital Policy Agency Imposes Large Penalty on SK Telecom Due to Years of Neglect
In a significant turn of events, South Korea's Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) has fined SK Telecom Co. 134.8 billion won ($97 million) for failing to protect customer data and not reporting breaches in a timely manner. This decision, accompanied by critical commentary, adds to the pressure on SK Telecom to reform its practices.
The breach, which occurred earlier this year, has raised major security concerns in the US. According to reports by Bloomberg, China-linked hackers known as Salt Typhoon breached telecom operators, including AT&T Inc., allowing them to monitor the phones of senior US officials and potentially endanger Federal Bureau of Investigation informants. The loss of call logs in the SK Telecom hack has added to these concerns, with defense and military affairs expert Yu believing that with access to call data records, hackers could potentially reconstruct entire call logs, exposing sensitive communications at the highest level of the government.
The PIPC felt a sense of frustration about SK Telecom's lack of action in addressing its weaknesses. PIPC Chairman Ko Haksoo stated that SK Telecom had been in a vulnerable state for a long time, with significant weaknesses across the board. Congressman Yu Yong Weon expressed deep concern over these developments due to potential national security implications, specifically fearing that sensitive government and military information could have been compromised, which might threaten South Korea's cybersecurity and defense integrity.
Despite opportunities to identify and address these issues over time, SK Telecom missed these chances and continued to overlook them for a prolonged period. The PIPC ordered the company to improve oversight and criticized it for a prolonged lapse in securing user data appropriately, with allegations dating back to 2022.
In response, SK Telecom has stated that it regrets the outcome of the PIPC's decision and feels that their position and actions were not adequately considered during the investigation. The company has also pledged to prioritize personal data protection in all its business activities moving forward.
Amidst these developments, the South Korean government is taking steps to strengthen its cybersecurity measures. The newly proposed National Cybersecurity Act aims to unify the government's emergency response to cyberattacks and facilitate intelligence sharing on cyber threats. Following an investigation of the attack, the Ministry of Science and ICT in July said the carrier should waive penalties for customers looking to leave the network, further emphasizing the need for improved security practices.
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