KT to invest $724 mil. in cybersecurity, anti-phishing measures over 5 years

KT unveiled a major plan to invest more than 1 trillion won ($724.5 million) in data and information security over the next five years on Tuesday, pledging to bolster its security infrastructure and provide safer telecommunications services for its users.

As part of the investment, KT will allocate approximately 340 billion won to enhance a zero-trust, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered monitoring system, and around 20 billion won to form security partnerships with global tech giants such as Microsoft and Google.

The company also plans to nearly double its in-house security personnel from 162 to 300, with about 50 billion won earmarked for talent expansion. The remaining 660 billion won will be used to maintain and upgrade its existing security infrastructure.

“Security is not just a matter of technical concern, but a core value in building corporate trust,” KT Chief Information Security Officer Hwang Tae-sun said during the company’s briefing in central Seoul. “We plan to elevate our information security system, which already is the best in the local industry, to a world-class standard that goes beyond Korea.”

KT’s core strategy involves K-Security Framework, a self-developed framework to maintain tight control over the process of protecting customer data. The framework consists of K-Offense, which conducts penetration testing based on an in-depth understanding of internal security, and K-Defense, an integrated system with both technical and administrative controls to protect against a wide range of attacks.

The company will also continue adopting a zero-trust security philosophy, enforcing minimal necessary permissions and constantly verifying both users and devices.

Referring to a series of mobile carriers’ data breach cases in the United States, Hwang noted that the company decided to make the investment as a strategic approach.

“When T-Mobile in the U.S had a data breach in 2021, they ended up paying approximately 670 billion won in compensation. Similarly, after nine major U.S telecoms were hacked in 2023, AT&T had to pay out nearly 400 billion won, with Verizon suffering comparable costs,” he said.

“And that’s not even counting the hidden costs. That’s why we believe that proactive investment in prevention is the smarter, more strategic approach.”

The company is also raising the bar for customer safety to curb telecom-related crime, planning to launch their AI Voice Phishing Detection 2.0 service in the latter half of this year.

The service includes features for advanced speaker recognition and deepfake voice detection, trained on more than 25,000 voice phishing recordings in partnership with the National Forensic Service. The AI analyzes real-time conversations to detect keywords often associated with phishing crimes and alert users instantly.