South Korea to require facial recognition for new mobile numbers

South Korea will require facial recognition when signing up for new mobile phone numbers to prevent identity-theft and voice-phishing scams; the policy applies to major carriers and MVNOs, begins after a pilot and takes effect March 23. The measure follows widespread voice-phishing incidents and a major April breach at SK Telecom in which attackers stole SIM card and subscriber authentication data for nearly 27 million users due to inadequate access controls.