News

South Korea looks to boost cybersecurity

South Korea has been one of the most affected nations during the recent surge in cybercrime. According to a study released by Panda Labs, South Korea has the second highest percentage of computers infected with malware in the world. With approximately 54 percent of its machines compromised, the nation only trails China.

The country's tense relationship with rival North Korea has further exacerbated cybersecurity concerns. With the threat of war constantly looming, Pyongyang has allegedly sought to disrupt South Korean infrastructure and industry with targeted cyberattacks. The most recent incident targeted South Korea's financial centers and telecom organizations, disrupting approximately 32,000 computers, the New York Times reported.

According to ZDNet, South Korean officials are planning to overhaul current cybersecurity systems for its financial services industry to prevent future attacks. The announcement comes in the wake of hacktivist group Anonymous claiming it had stolen customers' personal data from a South Korean bank.

The Financial Supervisory Service and the Financial Services Commission are working to create a comprehensive security plan that will provide stricter guidelines for operating financial service networks as well as hold company executives accountable for security lapses that lead to customer data breaches.  One of the concerns that authorities have is that enterprises may not be complying with government regulations stating that a certain percentage of a company's manpower and resources must be dedicated to IT security. The organizations will complete an investigation covering the state of network security in the financial industry and report the results later this year.

A crucial component of any financial security plan is practicing proper encryption methods. Banks and other financial institutions store large volumes of sensitive data on their servers. In addition, financial information is constantly being transferred across their networks. A comprehensive encryption plan can protect financial data both at rest and while in transit.

Cybercriminals will always target financial centers for their wealth of valuable information. Protect in-transit data with an SSL certificate today.

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