▲ An ATM inside a building in Seoul on the 5th, amid recent hacking incidents in the financial sector.
Financial companies that have been increasing their information security personnel are expected to further accelerate the expansion of their security workforce in the wake of recent consecutive hacking incidents.
Amid year-end personnel reshuffles, there is also the possibility of reorganizing security organizations to respond to artificial intelligence (AI) threats.
According to data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to People Power Party lawmaker Lee Yang-soo today (October 6), information security personnel at 34 financial companies at the end of last year increased by 7.0% compared to the end of 2024.
Out of the 34 institutions, 22 increased their workforce.
This is the exact opposite trend of financial companies reducing their total employee counts every year as they pursue operational efficiency.
Woori Bank's security personnel increased from 74 at the end of 2024 to 101 at the end of last year, while Hana Bank's rose from 69 to 79.
NH Nonghyup Bank also increased its staff from 114 to 118.
Samsung Card went from 37 to 49, and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance increased from 58 to 62.
Mirae Asset Securities also expanded its team from 33 to 38.
On the other hand, 8 institutions including KB Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank saw a decrease in personnel, and 4 institutions including K-Bank showed no change.
Industry insiders explain that because operational efficiency can be enhanced through the automation of security monitoring, it is difficult to judge security capabilities based solely on the size of the workforce.
Instead, securing expertise to develop and operate AI tools and analyze new attack methods, along with investing in security infrastructure, is expected to become even more critical.
This demand for talent is evident in recent recruitment postings.
The atmosphere is already one of going all out to find personnel equipped with both AI technology and practical security experience.
Last month, Shinhan Bank began recruiting experienced professionals to develop tools that diagnose vulnerabilities using AI and analyze source code.
Requirements included 10 or more years of experience in information security and at least 2 years of experience leading AI tool deployment projects.
Hana Bank also began recruiting experienced professionals on September 22 to handle the establishment and operation of AI and blockchain security systems and threat analysis.
The requirement is 3 or more years of experience in establishing and operating information security policies.
NH Nonghyup Bank recruited personnel last month for white-hat hacking, open-source vulnerability analysis, security architecture design, and security data analysis.
It specified roles such as mock hacking utilizing actual attack techniques and vulnerability verification.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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