[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] In response to the recent hacking incident at SK Telecom, the South Korean government has begun cybersecurity inspections on major domestic platform service providers, including Naver, Kakao, Coupang, and Woowa Brothers (operator of Baedal Minjok).
On May 26, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that starting May 23, cybersecurity experts, including personnel from the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), have been inspecting other telecom operators (KT and LG Uplus) as well as leading platform companies to determine whether they have also been compromised. The investigation focuses on whether hackers may have planted malicious code on their servers, using the same method uncovered during the SK Telecom probe.
Previously, following the initial disclosure of the SK Telecom breach last month, the government provided details of the malicious code to these companies and requested voluntary inspections. However, growing public concern over cybersecurity prompted the authorities to conduct direct investigations.
A ministry official stated, “The current inspections are being carried out with the consent of each company. If any signs of hacking are detected, immediate action will be taken, and the results will be transparently disclosed to the public.”
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)