#Office worker Shim (33) is a subscriber of SK Telecom with multiple lines. He often handles work irrespective of time and place, accessing his tablet PC through the SK Telecom network. During non-work hours, he receives urgent calls on his smartwatch and manages simple tasks. His tablet PC and watch are equipped with a USIM (Universal Subscriber Identity Module), just like a smartphone.#
According to industry sources on the 30th, SK Telecom, which recognized a hacking attack on the 18th, has not yet provided 'customer information protection measures' to approximately 1.6 million subscribers of its tablet PCs and wearable devices. This is despite the fact that the tablet PCs and wearable devices are equipped with USIMs.
SK Telecom managed and processed data related to 'subscriber-based terminal devices' from a server where USIM information was leaked due to a hacking attack. Nonetheless, they did not inform tablet PC and wearable device subscribers about signing up for the 'USIM protection service.' It appears they are not actively notifying that the USIMs embedded in the tablet PCs and wearable devices are also eligible for free replacement.
Shim said, 'I had no idea that the tablet PC and watch are also eligible for free USIM replacement and could enroll in the protection service. Until now, there hasn’t been a single notification message,’ adding, 'I’m worried that important company data might leak while I’m exchanging it through the tablet PC.'
According to the Ministry of Science and ICT's status on wired and wireless communication service subscriptions, as of February this year, there are 926,483 subscribers of SK Telecom's tablet PCs. The number of wearable device subscribers is counted at 660,941. When combining other devices, SK Telecom's 'subscriber-based terminal devices' lines exceed 1.6 million, a remarkable first place compared to its competitors. During the same period, KT had 652,240 tablet PC subscribers and 559,518 wearable device subscribers, while LG Uplus had 421,945 tablet PC subscribers and 569,677 wearable device subscribers.
With 23.1 million mobile subscribers as a base, SK Telecom is also leading the 'subscriber-based terminal devices' market. This is because they are launching and operating plans for tablet PCs and wearable devices in conjunction with smartphones. However, following the USIM hacking incident, they have been criticized for neglecting information protection measures for tablet PC and wearable device subscribers, implying that “only the profitable customers are tended to while the rest are neglected.”
Professor Jang Hang-bae of the Department of Industrial Security at Chung-Ang University noted, 'The hacking risk for tablet PCs and wearable devices accessing the SK Telecom network using USIM is at the same level as that of smartphones,' adding, 'Since they operate in a structure where the device accesses equipment that processes USIM information, information can also leak from tablet PCs and wearable devices.'
The first investigation results from the public-private joint investigation team of the Ministry of Science and ICT indicate that four types of information related to USIM duplication were leaked from the hacked SK Telecom server. Additionally, 21 types of management information necessary for processing USIM data have also escaped externally. However, it has been confirmed that there was no leakage of device unique identification numbers (IMEI).
A subscriber of SK Telecom, Choi (42) said, 'Many customers are unaware that they can enroll in the USIM protection service for their tablet PCs because they haven’t been informed.'
A representative of SK Telecom explained, 'When subscribers access the enrollment link for the USIM protection service, they can view the list of lines for devices such as their tablet PC and can apply for enrollment,' adding, 'The free USIM replacement service also has a feature that allows for the reservation of the entire list of lines all at once.'