A major security breach on SK Telecom has raised alarms about South Korea’s military communications security, which is increasingly reliant on civilian mobile networks and personal devices, making it inherently vulnerable to modern cyberattacks.

The theft of 9.7 GB of sensitive data from the telecom giant’s USIM management system, potentially affecting 25 million users, has sparked urgent questions about the country’s digital defense readiness.

The leaked data, though not fully disclosed, reportedly includes information essential for SIM card operations, which are central to authentication, messaging and mobile communications. Given South Korea’s extensive integration of mobile technology in banking, identity verification