South Korea Plans to Overhaul Cybersecurity After Attacks on Banks and Crypto Firms

After reviewing security vulnerabilities at 130 financial firms, South Korea is proposing stricter cybersecurity assessments.

South Korea is proposing tougher cybersecurity assessments after investigating security flaws at 130 financial firms.

South Korea is planning tougher cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions after investigating previous security incidents involving 16 companies, including crypto exchanges.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) has announced that it will pursue cyber security flaws in 130 out of 555 financial firms, following a wide-ranging industry investigation into improved threat monitoring, more frequent security assessments and stronger accountability for managers.

The FSC said around 100,000 pieces of customer data across the affected companies were affected, including names, contact details and identification numbers.

Affected companies include streaming operator Gopax and cryptocurrency trading platform Prabang, which previously disclosed that a hack on October 2 had exposed some customers' personal information.

Under the proposed reforms, larger financial institutions will undergo vulnerability assessments at least twice a year. The regulator also plans to strengthen information-sharing systems and is considering the use of artificial intelligence in the security monitoring of smaller firms.

The regulator is also considering allowing additional cybersecurity inspections outside of regular assessment programs in the event of immediate threats, as part of efforts to prevent future incidents.

The FSC said they were still investigating whether the incidents were related to the use of artificial intelligence or were linked to the same attackers.