South Korea Agency Fines SK Telecom $97 Million Over Major Data Leak

South Korea’s SK Telecom was fined on Thursday about 134 billion won ($96.53 million) after the country’s largest mobile carrier suffered a cyberattack this year causing the leak of data for nearly 27 million users.

The government-run Personal Information Protection Commission announced the punishment in a statement, blaming the company for neglecting its duty to take safety measures and for delays in notifying the leak to customers.

The company’s systems were in a “very weak condition” that allowed outside users to gain access to its internal intranet, the commission said. There was no password or safety measures taken to protect its servers, while operating systems were outdated without the latest security updates, it said.

The company must strengthen safety rules on information protection and revamp its governance, the commission said.

SK Telecom felt a “grave responsibility” and would do its best to protect customer information, making it a top priority, the company said in a text message, when asked about the ruling.

The company would make further comment when it received formal notification from the commission.

SK Telecom said in July it would beef up information protection and invest about 700 billion won over five years on data protection.

($1 = 1,388.0000 won)

(Reporting by Heejin Kim; editing by Ed Davies)

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