KT mobile payment breach hits broader area than initially known: lawmaker
Koo Jae-hyung, who heads KT's network technology division, delivers an apology during a press conference held in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
A recent mobile payment breach at KT has affected a broader area than initially reported, expanding beyond the previously identified regions of southwestern Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province, a report submitted by the firm to a lawmaker showed Sunday.
The newly identified areas include southern parts of Seoul, as well as Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the ruling Democratic Party said, citing the report filed by KT.
On Thursday, Korea's second-largest mobile carrier said the number of victims had reached 362, up from its initial report of 278.
"It would have been helpful for the investigation if KT had released detailed information on the location and time of the breaches quickly. I cannot understand why KT is releasing the information little by little," Hwang said.
Experts point out that the scope of damage continues to increase as KT had limited its probe to automated response system (ARS) breaches.
KT currently tracks damage based on cases in which hackers intercepted ARS calls that should have been sent to victims to authorize mobile payments.
One of the victims, however, told Yonhap News Agency that the hackers appeared to have also breached the PASS account, a mobile verification application operated by the country's three mobile carriers.
Hwang urged KT to carry out a full-scale investigation and directly notify users of their mobile payment status.
On Friday, the government said in a press conference it will push to revamp policies to strengthen punishments for companies that intentionally delay notifying authorities of data breaches, while also paving the way for the government to launch investigations even without disclosure.