LG U+ apologizes for data hack, stonewalls on details

LG U+ CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik bows in apology during a press conference held in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Thursday, after customer data leakage and network disruptions. [YONHAP]

 
LG U+ apologized for the recent data leakage and network disruptions caused by cyberattacks, and promised to triple its security spending to 100 billion won ($77 billion) a year.
 
“We sincerely apologize to our customers and business owners who have suffered due to the data leakage and network disruptions,” said LG U+ CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik during a press conference held in the company’s headquarters building in Yongsan District, central Seoul.
 
“The recent accidents were caused by our overlooking of the fact that the security system is the foundation of telecommunication,” said Hwang.
 
The apology came after network disruptions on Feb. 4 and Jan. 29, and a separate customer data leakage case reported by LG U+ on Jan. 3.
 
LG U+ did not disclose any additional information about the theft of data or the attacks, citing the ongoing investigation by the police.
 
“So far, no additional information on the cause or the path of the leakage has been found,” said Hwang.
 
Hwang said that LG U+ will triple its security expenses to 100 billion won a year.  
 
In 2022, LG U+ spent 29.1 billion won in cyber security, compared to SK Telecom’s 62.6 billion won and KT’s 102.1 billion won, according to the Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA).
 
As of December, LG U+ had a 20.7 percent mobile market share with 15.7 billion subscribers. SK Telecom had 40.1 percent and KT 22.3 percent.
 
LG U+ plans to reorganize and strengthen its security division to operate directly under the CEO and hire more people, while establishing a data security committee with external experts and enhancing its defense training against cyberattacks.
 
For customers affected by the hack, it will provide a free USIM card and spam call detector service. A comprehensive plan for user compensation will be set up as well.
 
LG U+ has been in hot water since the massive customer data leakage in January and service disruptions caused by denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
 
On Jan. 2, a group claiming that it hacked the LG U+ security system put up posts on online forums selling the personal information of 20 million customers.
 
LG U+ filed a report to the police and KISA, and notified its customers on Jan. 10 that 180,000 of its customers were affected. The figure was later corrected to 290,000, with the addition of data from 110,000 former customers that cancel their subscriptions.
 
LG U+ recently suffered five network disruptions caused by DDoS attacks, three times on Jan. 29 and twice on Feb. 4. The DDoS attacks are still ongoing but have been blocked, according to the company.
 

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]