Kaspersky warns that traditional SIM card onboarding remains a major vulnerability for travelers, citing long queues and privacy risks as key pain points in mobile connectivity.
“You have to queue a long time to subscribe for the SIM card, having the physical SIM card and swapping to the local SIM card. The other one is the privacy concern” Choon Hong Chee, Head of Consumer Channel for Asia Pacific and Japan at Kaspersky told BackGroundBriefing.news.
The process often requires travelers to visit a retail outlet, present identification, and manually replace their SIM card—steps that can take hours during peak travel seasons. Beyond inconvenience, the bigger issue is SIM card onboarding privacy, as personal data collected during registration may be exposed or mishandled.
Why Privacy Risks Are Growing
Physical SIM registration typically involves sharing sensitive information such as passport details and contact numbers. In regions with less stringent data protection laws, this creates opportunities for identity theft or unauthorized data use. Chee’s comments underscore the need for telcos to adopt privacy-by-design principles and minimize data retention during onboarding.
The Push for Digital Alternatives
Industry experts point to eSIM technology as a potential solution, offering remote activation without physical swaps. However, adoption remains uneven, and many travelers still rely on traditional SIM cards. Until digital options become mainstream, addressing SIM card onboarding privacy will require clearer consent processes, secure storage practices, and transparency from mobile operators.
What’s Next for Consumers
Travelers should verify how their data will be used and stored before completing SIM registration. Meanwhile, regulators and telcos must collaborate to reduce friction and strengthen safeguards. As Chee emphasized, the goal is to make connectivity both seamless and secure—a challenge that hinges on solving SIM card onboarding privacy concerns.
About the speaker:
Choon Hong Chee
Head of Consumer Channel for Asia Pacific and Japan
Kaspersky
Choon Hong Chee, Head of Consumer Channel for Asia Pacific and Japan at Kaspersky, is a seasoned business leader with over 18 years of experience driving growth across technology and cybersecurity sectors. Based in Singapore, he currently leads consumer channel strategies to strengthen Kaspersky’s presence in the region.
Previously, Choon Hong held senior roles including Head of Business Development for APAC at Lookout and Regional Director at Symantec, where he spearheaded security-as-a-service initiatives. He also served as General Manager for IT Business at Samsung Electronics Singapore and played a pivotal role in Samsung’s mobile leadership in Southeast Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the National University of Singapore and certifications in Data Science and AI.
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5W1H summary:
| Category | Summary |
|---|---|
| What | 1. SIM card onboarding issues 2. Long queues for physical SIM 3. Privacy concerns during registration |
| How | 1. Manual SIM swap required 2. In-person ID verification 3. Data handling lacks transparency |
| Why | 1. Regulatory compliance needs 2. Limited eSIM adoption 3. Weak privacy safeguards |
| Who | 1. Choon Hong Chee 2. Head of Consumer Channel APAC & Japan 3. Kaspersky spokesperson |
| Where | 1. Asia Pacific region 2. Japan included 3. Global traveler context |
| When | 1. During SIM onboarding 2. At point of travel 3. Peak travel seasons |
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Why is SIM card onboarding a problem for travelers?
- Long queues at retail outlets
- Manual SIM swapping required
- Time-consuming ID verification
2. What are the main privacy concerns during SIM registration?
- Sharing sensitive personal information
- Risk of data misuse or leaks
- Lack of transparency in data handling
3. How does eSIM technology address these issues?
- Enables remote activation without physical SIM
- Reduces need for in-person verification
- Minimizes exposure of personal data
4. Why is SIM card onboarding privacy important?
- Protects travelers from identity theft
- Ensures compliance with data regulations
- Builds trust in mobile services
5. What steps can consumers take to stay safe?
- Verify how data will be stored
- Use official channels for SIM activation
- Prefer digital solutions like eSIM when possible
Transcript of the interview:
In fact, recently we just launched Kaspersky eSIM store because we’re seeing growing threats when people travel. People tend to fall into phishing scams when trying to subscribe to an eSIM.
Also, there is the experience of people when they go to a new country and don’t have data roaming; they face the inconvenience at the airport.
You have to queue for a long time in order to subscribe for the SIM card, having the physical SIM card and swapping to the local SIM card. And the other one is the privacy concern.
Imagine the people at the booth take your passport, scan your information, photocopy information, and then just leave it on the table where everyone can have access to your private data. At the same time, we also see that the roaming cost is very expensive.
For example, it could cost $10 for 100 MB of data in a foreign country. This is where we see the opportunity to have Kaspersky eSIM to address all these different needs and concerns.
And what is Kaspersky doing about exactly these concerns?
What we are trying to address first is privacy. The Kaspersky eSIM store is very simple; just download the application and register with your information, and that’s about it.
Then you have the flexibility to subscribe to the data package that you want. For example, you just want 1 GB of data, 2 GB of data, or 3 GB of data, so you have the flexibility to choose one of them.
At the same time, some people will say if they subscribe for 5 GB of data and cannot finish it, everything will be gone. But for the Kaspersky eSIM store, you have the option to choose the non-expiration of a data package, meaning that if you couldn’t finish the 5 GB of data, the remaining data will stay with you forever.
So that is very flexible, and people like the confidence of that.
What did Kaspersky put into place in order to provide this?
We work with third-party partners to come out with this eSIM store. By working with these partners, we are able to provide coverage for up to 150 countries and regions so that our customers have the option to subscribe to different countries’ eSIMs at their convenience.
It is also complementary to our current customers who appreciate security over data security. That is an option for them to choose as a Kaspersky customer as well.
That’s really interesting. I always thought Kaspersky was a cybersecurity company, but now you’re getting into providing bandwidth. What is the hoped-for outcome of this?
Cyber hackers or cyber criminals are very creative people. If they see there’s a growing trend of people going on outbound travel and subscribing to eSIMs, very naturally they’ll take advantage of the eSIM.
For example, we’re seeing phishing websites imitating telcos’ websites, and when people fall into that, they think they’re going to a legitimate website, but in fact, they have fallen into a phishing scam. Of course, there are many varieties of this phishing scam leveraging the popularity of eSIM.
Kaspersky’s mission is to provide a safer digital world, so we see that it’s important for us to cater to our customers, as well as the consumers out there, with a secure and trustworthy option, which is the Kaspersky eSIM store. People don’t have to fear for their privacy, as I mentioned, or face the inconvenience of running to a store to pick up a SIM card.
That became a natural progression for us to extend our portfolio by having this Kaspersky eSIM store.
And any other KPIs that you’re driving to with offering the service?
As a cybersecurity company, we always look at how we can help our customers stay in a broader, safer digital world. We see the opportunity in providing a more secure eSIM store available to our customers or subscribers.
We see the opportunity of enhancing our portfolio so that our customers have peace of mind when they stay with Kaspersky.