The Financial Security Institute (FSI) plans to provide free security support to as many as 300 small and mid-sized financial companies in South Korea, including AI-based vulnerability checks and security education and training for firms that are not its members.
The FSI is reviewing the support plan with a goal of launching it next year, according to financial industry sources on Oct. 22.
The move follows the Financial Services Commission's announcement on Oct. 14 that it would strengthen security management support for small and mid-sized financial firms, and a parliamentary audit of the Financial Supervisory Service on Oct. 19 that raised concerns about security blind spots among non-member companies.
The education program will brief employees at smaller firms on recent breach cases and response procedures. For training, the FSI is considering having the firms take part in unannounced simulation drills conducted jointly with the FSS, or testing their ability to detect and defend against simulated attacks on the institute's cyber training network.
The support is expected to cover up to about 300 companies, including roughly 250 fintech firms and online investment-linked finance providers, as well as small savings banks and capital firms that operate their own websites. "Electronic financial businesses and online lending intermediaries are connected to banks and card companies through payment and lending services, so strengthening their defenses can prevent damage from spreading," an industry official said.
The FSI is also developing an AI-based website inspection platform, targeting operation in the second quarter of next year. Financial companies would enter a website address, and the AI would analyze vulnerabilities and provide a report. The institute plans to open the platform to non-member firms as well, allowing them to identify and fix weak points on their own.