Ministry of Science and ICT and Korea Internet & Security Agency Issue Warning
High Risk of Cyberattacks Aimed at Stealing Personal Information
Following the SK Telecom hacking incident, the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency issued an urgent security notice on April 27, warning of cases where individuals are lured into entering their personal information on external phishing sites under the pretense of "free USIM replacement" or "USIM protection service."
The identified cases involve ordinary citizens entering keywords such as "free USIM replacement" or "USIM protection service" into search engines. As a result, search results appear that include excerpts from media reports, and when these results are clicked, users are redirected through an intermediary nonprofit domain and ultimately led to gambling sites.
This situation presents a high risk of cyberattacks in which the general public is induced to access phishing sites and have their personal information stolen. To prevent such damage, citizens are advised to check whether the website addresses displayed in search results match legitimate sites, and to refrain from accessing sites of unclear origin. If someone does access a phishing site, they must not enter any user information or install malicious apps or similar software.
If a phishing message is received, it should be reported immediately to the Korea Internet & Security Agency at 118. If there is any suspicion of malicious app (malware) installation, users should scan their devices with a mobile antivirus program and delete any malicious apps. The Ministry of Science and ICT and KISA are currently detecting and blocking similar phishing sites, as they expect phishing and smishing attacks impersonating free USIM replacement services to continue.
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