Questions are mounting that KT responded slowly in connection with the unauthorized small-payment case at KT.
According to a Yonhap News report on the 10th, police informed KT on the 1st that a series of small-payment damages were occurring. KT began blocking abnormal small payments starting in the early morning of the 5th. People inside and outside the industry say the damage may have expanded because no action was taken for three days after the police notice.
In the cyber intrusion report submitted by KT (obtained by Rep. Hwang Jeong-a's office from the Ministry of Science and ICT), the time of the incident was listed as "unverifiable," and there were "no" abnormal signs before the damage was recognized. A source in the telecommunications industry said, "It may be difficult for KT to determine exactly when the hacking incident using an illegal micro base station occurred. However, I don't know why they reported there were no abnormal signs even though they were notified by the police on the 1st."
Police notified KT of the incident several times, but KT reportedly responded with remarks such as, "KT cannot be breached (by hacking)," and "That kind of incident cannot occur."
A joint public-private investigation team suspects that the hacker installed an illegal micro base station and intercepted KT users' traffic in the middle. According to the industry, the micro base station used in the unauthorized small-payment scheme is presumed to be a device called a "femtocell."