21-05-2025
Who hacked S. Korea's largest telecom, and why? Growing concerns the SKT data breach wasn't just about money
Some suspect a sophisticated Chinese hacking group may be behind the attack, raising potential alarms over cyber security
Nearly three years before South Korea's largest telecom provider knew anything was wrong, hackers had already broken into SK Telecom's internal systems. This detail emerged from a briefing this Monday by the government's public-private joint investigation team, which is probing one of the country's most serious cybersecurity breaches in recent memory.
The attackers first embedded malware on June 15, 2022, according to the investigation. That software remained hidden until last month, when over 9 gigabytes of sensitive SIM-related data tied to approximately 25 million subscribers, including customers of SKT's budget MVNO carriers, was suddenly exfiltrated. Among the leaked data were 21 types of subscriber-related information, including identification numbers and SIM authentication credentials.
What hasn't been confirmed, however, is whether call records or other highly sensitive personal communications data were taken. SK Telecom has said its call detail records (CDRs) are encrypted, but encryption alone may not be enough, warns Professor Kim Seung-joo of Korea University's Graduate School of Information Security.
'Even encrypted data is vulnerable if the keys aren't securely managed,' he said in a separate media interview on Tuesday. 'The same thing happened to nine US telecoms last year.'
CDRs are highly valuable in state-backed cyber operations. Unlike credit card data, they reveal patterns of communication and movement, making them ideal for tracking public officials and institutions, he explained.
The malware discovered on SK Telecom's servers included BPFdoor, a backdoor tool also used by Salt Typhoon, the Chinese-linked group behind the attacks on AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.
South Korean investigators have not confirmed the attribution, but suspicion is growing.
Professor Lim Jong-in, a cyber defense expert at Korea University, told local radio on Wednesday morning that he suspects the Chinese hacking group Red Mansion may be behind the intrusion. They are known for APT-style cyberattacks -- operations that are typically slow-moving, well-funded and thus conducted by nation-state actors rather than ordinary cybercriminals. APT stands for Advanced Persistent Threat.
'Their yearslong persistence and stealth tell you this wasn't just about stealing data for profit,' said Professor Yum Heung-yeol, another cybersecurity scholar at Soonchunhyang University, according to a local media report on Wednesday. 'To compromise a core telecom operator without any spies or insider cooperation is not something amateur hackers can do.'
So far, no customers have reported cloned phones, suspicious charges or extortion attempts. That silence and the long-term nature of the breach, the experts have all said, makes financial motives unlikely.
'We are looking into multiple possibilities, including whether the attack was to steal data or to establish long-term access to deeper systems,' said Ryu Jae-myeong, director-general of network policy at the ICT Ministry involved in the joint investigation team.
