The Ministry of Science and ICT has launched an investigation, including on-site inspections, over an international hacking group's claim of leaking SK Telecom customer information.
The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) said on the 16th that they confirmed claims by a hacker group called "Scattered Lapsus$" that it had stolen and was selling SK Telecom user data, and began verifying the facts by requesting SK Telecom to submit related materials.
According to lawmaker Choi Su-jin's office, the hacking group claimed the previous day via its Telegram channel that it would sell a 100GB sample of SK Telecom customer data for $10,000 (about 13.86 million won). It added that the data includes sensitive information such as customer IDs, names, phone numbers, emails, addresses, dates of birth, and subscription dates. In addition, the hacking group disclosed that it was selling not only SK Telecom personal information but also SK's internal core system code (SK TELECOM SOURCE CODE) for $250,000 (about 340 million won).
In response, SK Telecom dismissed the claim, saying, "As a result of analyzing the sample data and website/FTP screens the hacker posted on the dark web, including websites that do not exist at our company, it was confirmed that none of the content is true." It added, "The 100GB of data the hacker claimed also has never been leaked, and we have requested a police investigation."