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Watchdog to probe telecom retailers on personal data management [Legal Monitor Worldwide](Legal Monitor Worldwide Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) South Korea's telecom watchdog said Thursday it has opened an investigation into mobile carriers' retail shops across the country to root out any abuse of personal information. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC)'s move follows a series of alarming data leaks from mobile carriers amid increasing number of smartphone users. Earlier this month, police in the southern city of Busan said it arrested a suspect for allegedly circulating 12.3 million pieces of personal data obtained from a hacker who is presumed to have acquired them from local telecom retailers and other financial companies. Police investigators in Incheon, west of Seoul, said earlier this month it has arrested three people, including a telemarketer, for reportedly sneaking out personal information of some 12 million customers of KT Corp. "There have been several cases of personal data leakages from retailers," said Oh Nam-seok, a policy official at the KCC. "The probe has no deadline, and every shop will be investigated." While South Korea's telecom law requires that all subscription forms with personal information be discarded after being uploaded to computer servers, several retailers are said to have kept copies to use them for marketing purposes. The KCC said it will impose fines of up to 30 million won (US$27,907) on retailers who did not discard documents through random on-site inspections. They can also be prosecuted if they sold the data to a third party. Retailers often keep the personal information documents as the country's three mobile carriers use them to lure customers. SK Telecom Co. currently accounts for more than half of the market, trailed by KT Corp. with 30 percent and LG Uplus Corp. with the remaining share. (c) 2014 Legal Monitor Worldwide. All Rights Reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info, an Albawaba.com company |