KT Takes the Lead: Investing $724 Million to Boost Cybersecurity After Data Breach

KT Unveils 1 Trillion KRW ($724 Million) Cybersecurity Plan, Outpacing Rival SKT’s Pledge
South Korean telecom giant KT announced Tuesday a five-year, 1 trillion won ($724 million) investment in cybersecurity, responding to growing consumer concerns following a major data breach at industry leader SK Telecom.

The ambitious plan surpasses SKT’s 700 billion won commitment made on July 4, after a large-scale cyberattack in April compromised customers’ USIM data and sparked calls for an industry-wide security overhaul.

KT, however, emphasized that this investment strategy predates the SKT incident. During a media briefing in Seoul, Hwang Tae-sun, KT’s Chief Information Security and Privacy Officer, cited a string of data breaches at major U.S. carriers in 2023, including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, as the catalyst for their proactive approach.

As South Korea’s second-largest mobile carrier, KT currently leads domestic telecom operators with an annual information security budget exceeding 100 billion won. The new plan aims to nearly double this investment to about 200 billion won per year starting in 2024.
The investment breakdown includes approximately 20 billion won allocated for strengthening partnerships with global tech firms for enhanced security collaborations.

“We’re not limiting ourselves to Microsoft,” Hwang explained. “We’re actively exploring collaborations with other major global security firms like Google and Palo Alto Networks.”

An additional 340 billion won will bolster the company’s “zero-trust” architecture – a cybersecurity model that requires continuous authentication for all users and devices – and enhance AI monitoring systems.

The largest portion, 660 billion won, is earmarked for ongoing transparency initiatives and efforts to build public trust. The remaining 50 billion won will fund an expansion of KT’s cybersecurity workforce.

Hwang revealed plans to nearly double the company’s in-house security team from 162 to 300 experts.

KT also announced the upcoming launch of an upgraded AI-powered voice phishing detection service. This tool, which analyzes phone conversations in real-time, aims to improve fraud detection accuracy from 91.6% to 95%, potentially preventing over 200 billion won in damages.

Furthermore, the company is enhancing its AI-powered spam filtering system for text messages. The improved program will be capable of identifying and blocking emerging types of spam, including investment scams and messages mimicking social media conversations.