South Korean banks bolstering cyber security

Government orders new steps to combat cyber attacks.

The Financial Services Commission, the financial sector regulator, has ordered local banks to build a two-pronged network system (one for internal and another for external use) and is setting-up a consolidated backup center to defend against cyber attacks.

Under the new measures, banks must split their main operating system in the next 12 months before gradually separating the network system at headquarters and branches, which is likely to take a few more years. FSC estimates this could cost up to US$3.6 million depending on each bank's size.

FSC also wants to establish a consolidated backup center for data storage. There already is a secondary back-up for banks' data retrieval in the event of a cyber attack or natural disaster, and this will be the third “rescue center” for emergency data recovery.

The backup center will most likely be set up as an underground bunker outside Seoul for security purposes, FSC said.