By Cho Jin-seo
Staff Reporter
Online security provider Ahnlab has launched an Internet banking program that can block even the most advanced hacking attempts.
The company said Tuesday that the Online Security Secure Browser is the world's first system that fundamentally prevents leakage of online banking users' account information. It hopes to sell the tool to major banks and stock trading companies in Korea and abroad.
``This is a totally new kind of Web security,'' said Hwang Mi-kyung, public relations manager of Ahnlab. ``It will enhance the security of online banking in addition to our existing programs.''
The new system is a plug-in program, which can be downloaded from banks' Web sites. It prevents the so-called ``memory hacking'' attempts by using a secured Web browser, the company said.
The memory hacking method steals users' account information when the numbers are being transmitted from the keyboard to the PC's memory. As this process takes place within the user's own computer, there is no point in countering it with conventional anti-hacking programs that only prevent hacking attempts on the network or the bank's computer server, Ahnlab said.
South Korea is one of the leading countries in online banking transactions. In a country with a population of 50 million people, there are 44.7 million online banking accounts at 19 banks ― an increase from 17.7 million in 2002. More than 44 million transactions were made last year, totaling 9.8 quadrillion won ($9.8 trillion).
Because of the high usage of Internet banking and also the government's obsessive regulations on Internet security, local banks have adopted complicated anti-hacking measures, which include at least three sets of passwords and online identification programs provided from third parties.
Many Internet users have claimed such Web security programs are too irritating and inefficient, pointing out that other nations do not have such elaborated security systems. They also say that there were few serious hacking attempts involving significant amounts of money and even in such cases the criminals were easily caught.
Ahnlab said that Korea's unique situation makes tight security necessary.
``Korea has become the main target of hackers because online money transactions are so common here,'' said chief technology officer Kim Hong-seon said in a release. ``A secure browser is the best solution for safe online transactions.''