SMS Weblogs / Textually / 2005 / 02 / 20

Millions of phones disappear in South Korea

The Korea Times reports that more than 4.5 million mobile phones disappeared in South Korea last year. But where did they go?

"Government data reported to Rep. Kim Hee-jung of the main opposition Grand National Party revealed the number of cell phone loss or theft reached 4.58 million units last year, up 27.8 percent from 2003.

The lost phones might cause serious social problems of handset cloning when their electronic serial number (ESN) are leaked. The government, which has turned a blind eye to such threat, should come out with relevant measures,’’ Kim claimed.

Cell-phone cloning has emerged as a touchy issue of late as the ESN-based system is vulnerable to security breaches."

View original article