NIS orders USIM replacement across all government ministries

NIS orders USIM replacement across all government ministries

최초입력 2025.04.30 13:22:53

(Han Joo-hyung)

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) has recommended that all government ministries, public institutions, and affiliated organizations replace SK telecom Co. USIM cards following the hacking incident involving the mobile company’s servers.
The fallout from the hacking is raising concerns about a potential national security crisis.
The NIS announced on Tuesday that it sent an official notice to 19 government ministries and 17 metropolitan governments and educational offices across the country, advising them to replace the USIMs in work-related devices that use the SK telecom network.
The notice reportedly recommends replacing the USUMs in LTE (4G) and 5G routers - used in wireless communications for video signal transmission, traffic signal control, and remote metering - as well as mobile devices like work phones, tablets, and portable Wi-Fi devices.
For its part, the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), which is investigating the scope of personal data leakage linked to the hacking, hinted at imposing severe penalties on SK telecom.
PIPC Vice Chairperson Choi Jang-hyuk noted that the “fact that the main server of the country’s top telecom company was hacked is highly symbolic.”
“Given the wide scope of the breach, we view it as a serious matter,” he added.
According to the PIPC, the revised Personal Information Protection Act, which came into effect in September 2023, allows for a fine of up to 3 percent of a company’s entire revenue for violations. Based on SK telecom’s 2024 annual revenue of 17.9 trillion won ($12.5 billion), the fine could be as high as 540 billion won.
As the confusion around USIM replacements continues, SK telecom is seeing a growing exodus of customers. Around 34,000 users switched to other carriers on Monday alone, the day SK telecom began offering free USIM replacements, according to the telecom industry.
To resolve the USIM supply shortage, SK telecom announced plans to begin software-based USIM initialization in mid-May 2025. This technology avoids the need for physically replacing USIM cards by overwriting them with new data through software, effectively eliminating the risk of phone cloning.
The Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee of the National Assembly is scheduled to hold a hearing on Wednesday to investigate the full circumstances of the SK telecom hacking incident.
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NIS orders USIM replacement across all government ministries

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