South Korea's SK Telecom begins SIM card replacement after data breach

Core Viewpoint - SK Telecom, South Korea's largest carrier, is replacing mobile SIM chips for its 23 million users following a significant data breach that compromised personal information [3][4]. Group 1: Incident Overview - The data breach involved malicious code that led to the compromise of customer personal information, prompting an apology from the company and a government review of the national data protection system [4]. - SK Telecom has not disclosed the extent of the damage or the identity of the attackers [4]. Group 2: Response Actions - Starting from 10 am on Monday, SK Telecom began replacing USIM chips free of charge at 2,600 carrier stores nationwide [5]. - The company has committed to taking full responsibility and has encouraged users to sign up for an information protection service [5]. Group 3: Supply Chain Challenges - SK Telecom has acknowledged that it has secured less than 5% of the USIM cards needed for its customer base and plans to procure an additional five million chips by the end of May [6]. - Customers expressed concerns about the lack of transparency regarding the extent of the information leak and the number of affected subscribers [6]. Group 4: Cybersecurity Context - South Korea has been a frequent target of cyber hacking, particularly from North Korea, which has been implicated in several major attacks [7]. - In a related incident, North Korean hackers were reported to have stolen sensitive data from a South Korean court computer network over a two-year period, amounting to over one gigabyte of data [8].