ICT minister warns SKT of penalties for delay in SIM hack reporting

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ICT minister warns SKT of penalties for delay in SIM hack reporting

Published: 29 Apr. 2025, 16:07 Updated: 29 Apr. 2025, 16:36

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Sang-im speaks at the National Assembly in western Seoul on April 24. [NEWS1]

The government warned that SK Telecom will be punished accordingly for delaying even a single day in reporting on its hacker attack.

Minister of Science and ICT Yoo Sang-im said Tuesday issued the warning over reporting on a hacking incident involving SIM information, saying at a National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee session in western Seoul, "SK Telecom will receive a punishment proportionate to the delay in reporting by about a day".

He made the remarks in response to a question from People Power Party Rep. Kim Sung-won, who asked whether SK Telecom had attempted to cover up the incident with a reluctant and passive response.

Korea's top carrier said on April 22 that it first detected the attack in the evening on April 19, but reports from Korean media said that the it had actually detected the hacking at 11:20 p.m. on April 18, but did not submit its report to Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) until 3:30 p.m. on April 20.

KISA guidelines require companies to report hacking incidents within 24 hours. If SK Telecom had indeed detected the initial attack on April 18, then it is guilty of withholding crucial information and may face penalties.

"I sincerely apologize as the minister responsible for causing anxiety and concern among the public," Yoo said. "It is truly regrettable that we failed to prevent the incident in advance."

Yoo also stressed that there was no possibility of illegal mobile phone cloning.

"We are currently monitoring access through a prevention system to block unauthorized attempts," he said. "We are preventing any attempts to illegally and fraudulently subscribe to services."

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]