ATON Leads Public-Private Alliance with KISA, NongHyup to Combat Phishing Scams in Korea

ATON Inc. (CEOs Kim Jong-seo and Woo Gil-soo), a Korean fintech security company, has signed a three-way partnership with the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) to combat phishing and smishing attacks targeting financial consumers. The company will integrate KISA's real-time threat intelligence into its AI-powered anti-phishing platform ‘DefendUs’ to build a comprehensive security system protecting financial consumers. Smishing, a term combining "SMS" and "phishing," refers to fraudulent text messages designed to steal personal information.   ATON announced Wednesday (Jan. 22) that it signed the "Joint Response Agreement for Phishing and Smishing Prevention in Electronic Financial Transactions" with KISA and NACF. The agreement represents a public-private collaboration model that combines government threat intelligence, private-sector security technology, and financial institutions' field implementation capabilities. The core objective is to build a consumer protection system focused on proactive prevention rather than post-incident compensation.   The signing ceremony was held Tuesday (Jan. 21) at KISA's Seoul headquarters. Under the agreement, KISA provides government-verified threat intelligence, including malicious URLs and phishing site data, in real time; ATON develops and operates anti-phishing technology through its DefendUs platform; and NACF deploys the solution across its customer-facing mobile apps while sharing newly detected threats back into the system—creating a continuous feedback loop.   KISA functions as Korea's equivalent to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), operating the nation's anti-phishing response system.   The three parties expect the collaboration to reduce actual fraud conversion rates and lower costs associated with customer complaints and incident response by detecting and blocking phishing and smishing threats in real time at the point of mobile app usage. This aligns with Korean financial regulators' recent emphasis on strengthening consumer protection responsibilities for financial institutions.   "Integrating KISA's government-certified threat intelligence with our AI detection technology will significantly improve both response time and accuracy against new phishing tactics," said Woo Gil-soo, CEO of ATON. "This partnership will serve as a launchpad to expand our real-time prevention system to commercial banks and securities firms across Korea."   The urgency of such measures is underscored by recent data from the National Police Agency, which reported that voice phishing damages in South Korea exceeded 1 trillion won (about $700 million) in 2025—a record high. The government has responded with its "Comprehensive Plan to Eradicate Voice Phishing," emphasizing preemptive responses through public-private cooperation.   Attendees at the signing ceremony included Lee Dong-geun, Head of KISA's Digital Threat Response Division; Jeong Jae-heon, Executive Director of NACF's Mutual Finance Digital Business Division; and ATON CEO Woo Gil-soo.   NACF, one of South Korea's largest financial groups, serves more than 20 million customers through its nationwide network of agricultural cooperatives under the NongHyup brand.    정현식 기자IS alliance phishing technology phishing platform phishing site

2026.01.21. 16:26