LG U+ offers free USIM cards for customers whose personal data was leaked

Home > Business > Tech

LG U+ offers free USIM cards for customers whose personal data was leaked

Published: 20 Feb. 2023, 16:39

LG U+ logo shown during a press conference held on Feb. 16 at the company's headquarters in Yongsan District, central Seoul, after the customer data leakage incident and network disruptions caused by cyberattacks [YONHAP]

LG U+ is offering a free USIM card replacement for customers affected by the recent personal data leakage incident starting Monday.

It is one of the customer compensation measures announced by the company on Thursday.

Customers who were notified that their personal information has been leaked can get a new mobile USIM card at their nearest LG U+ branch. Those who were not directly affected by the recent data leakage can also get a free replacement starting Mar. 1, by registering online.

“It is difficult for a third party to copy a USIM card, but we decided to provide a free USIM replacement for all of our customers to relieve concerns over possible risks,” said an LG U+ spokesperson.

A spam call detector service will also be provided for customers affected by the hack.

The telecom company has been in hot water since the massive customer data leakage in January and service disruptions caused by denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

LG U+ notified its customers on Jan. 10 that 180,000 people were affected by personal data leakage. The figure was later corrected to 290,000, with the addition of data from 110,000 former customers that had canceled their subscriptions.

LG U+ also recently suffered five network disruptions caused by DDoS attacks, three times on Jan. 29 and twice on Feb. 4.

For business owners who were affected by network disruptions, LG U+ is operating a hotline and online channel for damage reports.

Last Thursday, LG U+ CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik apologized for the customer data leakage and network disruptions and promised to triple its security spending to 100 billion won ($77.2 million) a year.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]