130 South Korean Financial Firms Fail Security Checks, Prompting New Rules

Nearly a quarter of South Korea’s financial companies have gaps in their cyber defenses, and regulators now want stricter oversight to close them.

Cybersecurity Weaknesses Found at 130 of 555 Firms

After hackers targeted 16 companies, among them several crypto exchanges, the Financial Services Commission widened its probe to the whole sector. It found weak protections at 130 of the 555 institutions it examined. Roughly 100,000 pieces of customer data leaked in the attacks, including names, phone and address details, and identification numbers. Gopax operator Streami and trading platform Prabang were among those hit. Prabang had already admitted that an Oct. 2 breach revealed personal information belonging to some of its users.

What the New Security Rules Would Change

Stricter Testing for Large Institutions

Bigger financial firms would have to test their systems for vulnerabilities no less than two times a year. Regulators also want sharper threat detection, better data sharing across the industry and clearer personal responsibility for executives when security fails.

Extra Support for Smaller Companies

Authorities are looking at AI assisted monitoring for smaller firms and may allow surprise inspections outside the normal calendar if a serious threat emerges.

The commission has not yet confirmed whether AI tools played a role in the incidents or whether one group of attackers was responsible for all of them.