SK Telecom cash service is victimized by hackers

A mysterious leak of personal information and a vulnerable security system has damaged users of an electronic cash Web site and embarrassed the company that operates it. Officials from SK Telecom announced yesterday it had discovered that 11 users of its Nemo electronic cash service had lost 36 million won ($30,700) as a result of illegal withdrawals. The company has asked police to investigate the matter. Users of the service link their bank accounts with their cell phones and are able to transfer a maximum of 500,000 won daily from their accounts into electronic cash. The cash can then be used to transfer money to other cell phones, or to make payments for products purchased online. In order to register on Nemo, customers must use their real name, but the system does not require the cell phone user’s name to match that of the account when making a transfer, as long as the user has the correct personal information number. This is the systematic flaw that the thieves exploited. During a four-day period from April 24, four culprits obtained the account number and passwords of a number of Nemo users and transferred money from 11 users and six banks into their own accounts. SK Telecom officials discovered the incident after a user was discovered accessing and quitting the site over and over. “We will compensate the Nemo users affected for the total amount of damages as a form of customer service,” said a company official, adding, “we hope to identify how the account passwords were leaked.” Officials from SK Telecom, KTF and LG Telecom all emphasized that Nemo is different from the mobile banking services that the companies provide, which offer greater security features. by Yum Tae-jung