Samsung Pay screen. /Courtesy of Samsung Electronics

Earlier this month, the cause of the Samsung Pay payment outage that lasted about 3 hours and 30 minutes was identified on the 24th as a firewall error at the Samsung SDS Suwon data center.

According to data submitted to Kim Jang-gyeom, a member of the People Power Party, who is on the Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, on the 24th, Samsung Electronics and Samsung SDS identified the cause of the Samsung Pay payment error that occurred on the 2nd as a firewall issue at the Suwon data center.

Samsung Pay is currently providing services based on two data centers: Suwon and Mokdong. The issue seems to have occurred with the firewall at the Suwon data center.

The Ministry of Science and ICT noted, "According to Samsung SDS and Samsung Electronics, the cause of the (Samsung Pay payment) outage has been tentatively confirmed as an operational error of the network equipment (firewall) at the Suwon data center," adding that "a detailed cause is currently being analyzed with the equipment manufacturer."

In response to Kim's inquiry about the possibility of system hacking, the Ministry of Science and ICT stated, "Following routine vulnerability checks conducted by Samsung SDS in February and April and the recent outage, there were no unusual findings in the overall checks."

It added, "Samsung SDS is currently detecting external attacks in real-time through regular inspections and security monitoring performed by infrastructure management and maintenance companies based on checklist standards for the security monitoring system, network equipment, and servers."

Regarding the estimated financial damage caused by the Samsung Pay payment error, it said, "Samsung Pay is a free service providing mobile payment convenience features to users, and no actual monetary damage has been identified," noting that "the number of user Voice of Customer (VOC) inquiries stands at 1,151, mostly consisting of simple inquiries and reports of inconveniences."

The Ministry of Science and ICT is currently conducting written and on-site inspections regarding this matter by forming an inspection team that includes external experts, and if there are any deficiencies, corrective measures will be implemented.

Kim Jang-gyeom stated, "Following the SK Telecom hacking incident, the Samsung Pay outage has caused many citizens to experience inconvenience and heightened anxiety," and emphasized the need to closely monitor the cause analysis and the establishment of alternatives to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Previously, the Samsung Pay payment outage occurred at around 6:08 a.m. on the 2nd, lasting approximately 3 hours and 47 minutes. Some users faced an issue where the message 'Preparing for payment' appeared after fingerprint recognition when attempting to pay via Samsung Pay, without progressing to the payment mode. Card registration also did not proceed normally.