Seoul: Acting President Han Duck-soo has directed the government to evaluate SK Telecom Co.’s measures following a cyberattack that potentially compromised the universal subscriber identity module (USIM) data of its customers.

According to Yonhap News Agency, SK Telecom identified indications of a significant data leak on April 18. In response, the telecom giant announced that it would replace the USIMs for all 23 million of its users at no cost. Acting President Han has urged the Ministry of Science and ICT to conduct a detailed inspection of the company’s response, which includes recommending that users enroll in a USIM protection service.

Han has also instructed the government to conduct an in-depth analysis to determine the root cause of the incident. He has called on the National Intelligence Service and other relevant agencies to assess the nation’s data protection systems against cyberattacks.

SK Telecom’s plan to offer free USIM replacements is projected to cost the company 177.1 billion won (US$122.9 million). ICT Minister Yoo Sang-im stated that a joint civilian and government investigation into the data breach is underway and is expected to span one to two months.