South Korea's KT Accused of Using Malware to Prevent Torrenting Among 600,000 Customers

South Korea's KT Accused of Using Malware to Prevent Torrenting Among 600,000 Customers
Image credit: circleID

One of South Korea's largest telecommunications providers, Korea Telecom (KT), allegedly targeted hundreds of thousands of its customers with malware to stop them from using torrenting sites. Local media reports claim that KT used illegal methods to curb the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) downloading software. The operation, which began in May 2020, involved a dedicated division responsible for developing, maintaining, and distributing the malware, eventually affecting around 600,000 people.

The victims, users of the Grid Program, experienced strange folders appearing, files disappearing, and in some cases, their PCs stopped working altogether. TechNadu reported that only those using KT’s internet lines were affected. As the malware seemed to originate from KT’s data center, the Bundang IDC center, police became involved. The Gyeonggi Southern District Office suspects KT violated the Communications Secrets Protection Act (CSPA) and the Information and Communications Network Act (ICNA). Following these events, the KT CEO stepped down, and 13 individuals were identified and referred for prosecution.

P2P sites, like legitimate streaming services, can burden networks, which led to a legal battle between South Korean telecom providers and Netflix over network operation and construction costs. Given the potential for a lawsuit and the involvement of sensitive files, KT's method to prevent widespread P2P use could significantly harm the company.