LG Uplus-network security

▲ LG Uplus Corp. CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik offers a public apology for data breaches and network disruptions during a press conference at the company headquarters in central Seoul on Feb. 16, 2023. (Yonhap)

LG Uplus-network security

LG Uplus to invest annual 100 bln won to enhance network security

By Kim Boram

SEOUL, Feb. 16 (Yonhap) -- LG Uplus Corp., South Korea's No. 3 mobile carrier, on Thursday apologized for the recent data breaches and network attacks as it promised to invest 100 billion won (US$77.9 million) annually in the coming years to improve its network security capabilities.

"I offer a sincere apology to our customers for causing inconvenience due to our internet service disruption," LG Uplus CEO Hwang Hyeon-sik said in a press conference at its headquarters in Seoul. We see the incidents are grave challenges. As a telecommunications service provider, we should have focused more on network security."

The move came as the wireless carrier has been under fire for an information leak and service outages over the past months.

Personal data of 290,000 customers of LG Uplus, including their names, birth dates and phone numbers, had been leaked by a presumed hacking attempt on Jan. 2. The internet safety watchdog has been looking into the case but the cause of the data leak has remained unknown.

On top of that, LG Uplus' network has suffered partial disconnections for a combined five times on Jan. 29 and Feb. 4 due to suspected distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

LG Uplus' top management said the company will increase its spending on information security to 100 billion won annually in a bid to prevent any recurrence of such cyberattacks.

LG Uplus spent 29.2 billion won in the sector in 2021, according to the company's regulatory filing.

As part of its plans to improve network security, it will hire security specialists to review its network system and strengthen its response capabilities.

It will also hold an international competition for white-hat hackers to discover talent.

Hwang said his company will form a consultative body to map out effective compensation plans for customers who suffered damage by the DDoS attacks-led service malfunctions.

"We acknowledged that network and information security is the basic task of telecommunication business and it is linked to customer confidence," the CEO said. "We will make constant efforts to become a more trustworthy and capable company."

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