South Korea’s Financial Services Commission is preparing stricter cybersecurity requirements for financial institutions after reviewing a series of earlier security incidents that affected banks, fintech companies and crypto-related firms.

An industry-wide examination found cybersecurity weaknesses at 130 of 555 financial companies. Across the affected firms, roughly 100,000 pieces of customer information were exposed, including names, contact details and identification numbers.

Review follows 16 security incidents

The planned overhaul follows an investigation into 16 previous incidents involving financial companies, including crypto exchanges. The FSC said the review highlighted gaps in monitoring, internal controls and broader cyber readiness across the sector.

Among the named crypto-related firms were Streami, the operator of Gopax, and trading platform Prabang. Prabang had previously disclosed that a hack on Oct. 2 exposed some customers’ personal information.

Stronger checks and executive accountability

The regulator said its proposed response would focus on tighter threat monitoring, more frequent security testing and clearer responsibility at the management level. A central part of the package is stronger accountability for executives at financial institutions.

For larger firms, the FSC plans to require vulnerability assessments at least twice a year. The regulator is also weighing whether to permit extra cybersecurity inspections outside the regular schedule when urgent threats emerge.

Information sharing and AI under consideration

Alongside stricter assessments, the FSC said it wants to improve the systems used to share security-related information across the industry. The aim is to help institutions respond more quickly when risks are identified.

The commission is also considering the use of artificial intelligence for security monitoring at smaller companies. At the same time, officials said they are still investigating whether AI played any role in the incidents already under review.

What remains unresolved

The FSC said it has not yet determined whether the cases were connected to the same attackers. It is also still examining whether any of the incidents involved the use of AI.

The next confirmed step is the regulator’s push to develop tighter cybersecurity rules based on the review’s findings. Those measures are intended to reduce the risk of further breaches after weaknesses were identified across a significant share of the firms examined.

Source: cointelegraph.com