Card companies, insurance companies, and capital companies respond to SIM card hacking incident… “SKT users suspend ‘identity verification’”

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Impact of SK Telecom USIM Hacking… Financial Sector Expands Blocking of Identity Verification

With the large-scale theft of SK Telecom subscribers' USIM information due to hacking, the repercussions are spreading throughout the financial sector.

Following the insurance industry, the credit industry has also reportedly begun to suspend identity verification for users of SK Telecom and SK Telecom-affiliated budget phones.

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KB Capital and Card Companies "Temporarily Suspend Mobile Phone Verification"

On the 28th, KB Capital announced on its website that "In order to ensure the safe use of the KB Capital homepage, logging in through mobile phone verification, which was previously provided, will be temporarily unavailable."

This means that the identity verification procedures for customers using SK Telecom lines have been completely blocked.

Major card companies such as KB Kookmin Card, Samsung Card, Lotte Card, and Woori Card have also collectively posted notices on their websites titled "Safety Guidelines for SK Telecom Mobile Users."

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In their announcements, the card companies recommended subscribing to USIM protection services and replacing USIMs, and instructed users that they could request card usage suspension and financial transaction halting if personal information leakage is confirmed.

Quick Response from Financial Firms… "Risk of Mobile Verification Increased"

The rapid response from the financial sector stems from growing concerns about the reliability of mobile phone-based financial transactions. When USIM information is leaked, there is an increased risk of bypassing verification procedures or leading to the theft of financial assets.

Previously, on the 25th, KB Life Insurance decided to restrict identity verification for SK Telecom and its budget phone users, and NH Life also set a policy to completely suspend mobile phone verification for SK Telecom lines for two days starting from that day.

A financial industry official projected, "The number of cases where financial firms block text message verification methods will likely increase in the future."

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Among financial consumers, there is a trend towards rapidly switching to authentication methods using the identification app 'PASS' instead of text message verification.

Recommendation to Use Authentication Apps Instead of Text Messages

Financial authorities and the industry are actively recommending the use of security-enhanced authentication apps over text message verification to prevent additional damage in the future.

In particular, the 'PASS' app is jointly operated by the three major telecommunications companies and undergoes identity verification within the app itself, thus being evaluated as relatively safe even in the event of USIM information leakage.

Meanwhile, voices are growing within and outside the financial sector that fundamental measures must be established to address the traditional text message-based authentication system in light of this SK Telecom hacking incident.

Image source: News1

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