SEOUL, KOREA - With cyber security threats showing no signs of abating, the market for online information protection has been growing rapidly in and outside South Korea. The worldwide online security market, which grew from USD 180 billion in 2007 to USD 299.5 billion in 2011, is projected to hit USD 467.5 billion in 2015, dwarfing the global semiconductor market.
Buoyed up by demand rising from the Japanese market, South Korean online security companies’ exports are expected to grow at a fast clip.
According to the Korean Information Security Agency (KISA) and relevant industries, Korean online security companies’ exports, which gained approximately 8.9% from KRW 45 billion in 2011 to KRW 49 billion in 2012, are anticipated to surge about 40% year-on-year in 2013. Therefore, building on successful entry into the Japanese market, most of the online security companies will set their sights onexpansion into other overseas markets including the US and Southeast Asian markets. As such, the South Korean online security market has been on the upswing.
However, before online security companies go more global, much needs to be done with a sense of urgency when it comes to Korea’s defense against ever-resurgent cyber-attacks. Korea’s porous online security has been revealed by the DDoS attack on July 7 in 2009, the 2011 the Nonghyup Bank network meltdown, the major cyber-attacks on March 20, 2013 and the leakage of personally identifiable information on major websites such as Auction, Nexon and KT.
Cyber security threats were relatively simple in the past. Installation and management of online security systems like firewalls addressed severs’ vulnerabilities to cyber-attacks technically, therefore effectively protecting websites from any hacking attempts. Yet, today, cyber attackers are tirelessly finding new ways to fool their victims into visiting malware-laden websites. IT experts have found themselves overwhelmed by an incessant inflow of tricky, hard-to-fix problems such as infiltration through vulnerable apps,DDos attacks, attacks on users, hacking into gateways, information leaks by insiders, the so-called “watering hole” tactics (users will get infected by simply clicking on the websites with malware) and attacks on the operating systems of smartphones.
South Korea-based online security firm Ahnlab has been running the ASEC(Ahnlab Security Emergency-response Center), designed to systemically detect and debilitate online security threats. When the ASEC identifies any security threat based on its analyses of file bases according to malware type, network soft spots, engine technologies and various studies on security infrastructure, the ASEC writes signatures and reflect them in solution products and network solutions (if network vulnerability is responsible).
Need for enhancing global competitiveness and building international cooperation systems
The global online security industry, with a focus on “security in knowledge,” has recently experienced a paradigm shift- a movement towards intelligence and data-in tandem with changes in the computing environment brought on by cloud computing, mobile computing and big data. Though several online security experts have been thus far in charge of maintaining online security, more and more organizations and workforceswill perceive online security as part of their daily workon the back of automated, well-built infrastructures in place. As a result, as more companies see theirdata volumes balloon, security solutions, just like big data and cloud computing services, have more data to collect. Therefore, efficient data collections and analyses and speedy responses are all important. Furthermore, as our daily lives are increasingly getting intertwined with varied devices and mobile gadgets, a wider range of sectors will be covered by online security systems.
Unfortunately, there is no Korean online security company which, we can unequivocally say, has entrenched itself in the global market.
Enhancing the competiveness of domestic online security companies requires upgrading the domestic maintenance and service market into one in which domestic online security companies can create sustainable revenue structures. Then, customized security products should be designed and developed that can compare favorably with their foreign rivals.
In addition, with escalating competition among global companies and the transmission of a tremendous amount of data only several clicks away, cross-border technology leaks have already come to a head. To dampen such threats, international cooperation systems should be put in place.
“A series of industrial technology leaks and rampant cyber hacking incidents have prodded companies into mulling various ways to build up their online security as part of efforts to enhance their overall competitiveness. Educations and information on the current situation of industrial security and countermeasures against cyber terrorism should be shared among stakeholders,” said Jaw-soo Yang, head of the Smart Gyeonggi Information Industry Promotion Agency (SGIPA).
Meanwhile, in expectation of robust exports, Korean online security solution providers, which look to diversify their exports markets to Southeast Asia, the US and the EU,have to differentiate their products from foreign products by putting forward Unified Threat Management (UTM) products, which are expected to holda higher potential for growth in the public and private markets.
To that end, leveraging their advanced technologies, business knowhow accumulated in the domestic marketand field experiences, Korean online security companies have to strike partnerships with local companies and secure local distribution networks in order to make sure the thorough localization of their products.
Moreover, it is essential for the KISA to lend customized export-related support to domestic small- and medium-sized online security companies. To raise the profile of domestic online security patches in overseas markets, KISA has to proactively support domestic companies’ participation in overseas online security product exhibitions,continuously hold business consultation meetings and invite international buyers from Japan and Southeast Asian nations to South Korea. Such efforts will help introduce technology-armed Korean SMEs to the global market and provide them with opportunities to build international business networks.
