SK Communications (

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

: SK커뮤니케이션즈 or ''에스케이커뮤니케이션즈'') is a South Korean

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

company that owns and operates popular web portal Nate. It offers Internet access and telecommunications services for residences and businesses. SK Communications was founded in 1999 as Lycos Korea, a 50-50 venture of

Lycos Lycos, Inc. (stylized as LYCOS), is a web search engine and web portal established in 1994, spun out of Carnegie Mellon University. Lycos also encompasses a network of email, web hosting, social networking, and entertainment websites. The company ...

of the United States and Mirae Corp. of South Korea. The firm was sold to

SK Telecom SK Telecom Co., Ltd., abbreviated as SKT ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 perce ...

in 2002 and changed its name to SK Communications. SK Telecom currently holds 85.9 percent of its shares.

Overview

SK Communications was created when parent SK Telecom merged the recently acquired Lycos Korea with its

cable Internet In telecommunications, cable Internet access, shortened to cable Internet, is a form of broadband internet access which uses the same infrastructure as cable television. Like digital subscriber line (DSL) and fiber to the premises, cable Internet ...

unit NetsGo in 2002. NetsGo is the developer of Nate, a popular

web portal A web portal is a specially designed website that brings information from diverse sources, like emails, online forums and search engines, together in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displayin ...

in the Korean market. Lycos Korea had trouble differentiating itself from competition. With no clear image to anchor its position in the Korean market, Lycos declined in popularity and was soon incorporated into the Nate portal. The Lycos domain name was shut down at midnight on December 27, 2002, typing its address (www.lycos.co.kr) directed visitors to Nate's homepage. In 2003, Nate acquired Cyworld, one of the leading

social networking service A social networking service (SNS), or social networking site, is a type of online social media platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interest ...

s in South Korea.
To gain ground in the heatedly contested search market, SK Communications acquired rival

Empas Empas () was a South Korean internet search engine and web portal. Name The service was launched in 1998 by Knowledge Plant Corporation (), which changed its name to Empas Corporation in 2004. The name ''Empas'' is a combination of ''e-media' ...

for $82 million in October 2006. The deal also included acquiring Konan Technology, the exclusive provider of search technology to Empas. After its takeover, Empas continued to operate independently with complete autonomy over its management and workforce. However, in the aftermath of SK Communications' decision to incorporate Empas search services into its flagship Nate portal, the Empas

domain name In the Internet, a domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services, and more. ...

was shut down in 2008 and the brand ceased to exist soon after. To further integrate its services, SK took over professional blogging service Egloos in the same year.

Acquisitions

* Cyworld * Cymarket * Egloos * Empas * Etoos * SK i-media

2011 Data breach

In July 2011, SK Communications was hacked in one of the largest data breaches in South Korea's history. The attack, which is believed to have been conducted from Chinese IP addresses, had compromised SK Communication’s update server as its reached out to its supplier for a routine check up, according to the analysis, effectively turning the company’s security procedures into a vulnerability. Hackers used vulnerabilities in the system to gain access to the personal data and IDs of 35 million Nate and CyWorld social network users. The attack currently stands as 10th on DataLossDB’s list of largest all-time breaches with 35 million people affected.
In February 2013 a Seoul court has ruled that SK Communications should pay KRW 200,000 ($185.48) in damages to each ID theft victim in a class action lawsuit against SK Communications filed by 2,737 ID theft victims. On the ruling court said, Internet

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

firms ESTsoft and Symantec who provided security software to SK Communications were also named defendants in the case, however the court found that they were not liable for damages.

References

External links

Official website (English)
{{SK Group

Communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

Internet service providers of South Korea Companies based in Seoul Companies established in 2002 Companies listed on KOSDAQ 2002 establishments in South Korea

Overview

Acquisitions

2011 Data breach

See also

References

External links