The Ministry of Science and ICT asked police to investigate LG Uplus over suspected disposal of a server linked to a hacking probe.

On Dec. 10, the ministry said a joint public-private investigation team confirmed the disposal of a related LG Uplus server and asked police on Dec. 9 to investigate to establish intent.

A senior ministry official said LG Uplus discarded one of two APPM servers that managed server account permissions and submitted only one to the investigation team.

The APPM server provides intermediate authentication for internal system access. LG Uplus was also reported to have discarded some equipment needed for external-to-internal access.

The Korea Internet and Security Agency received a tip from a white-hat hacker in July that the APPM server managing insider accounts at LG Uplus had been hacked, and relayed the information to the company.

In August, US security outlet Fraq reported that a hacker group infiltrated the LG Uplus internal network using account information obtained by hacking an LG Uplus security contractor, stealing data on 8,938 servers, 42,256 accounts and 167 employees.

LG Uplus told the ministry after an internal review that it found no signs of intrusion. But at a National Assembly audit in October, lawmakers said LG Uplus updated or discarded related server operating systems after being notified of hacking indications, allegedly to remove traces. LG Uplus later reported the server hacking damage to KISA.