Strengthening the response system for telecommunications and financial fraud, such as voice phishing, using AI security technology

SK Telecom and the National Police Agency are strengthening their response system against telecommunications and financial fraud, such as voice phishing, by utilizing AI security technology. The two parties have been conducting pilot operations to identify criminal infrastructure and prevent actual damage through the analysis of malicious phishing apps and investigative cooperation, and have now transitioned this into an official cooperation framework.

SK Telecom and the National Police Agency announced on the 17th that they identified 475 criminal servers and prevented financial damage to 643 people in three months through cooperation in malicious app analysis and investigation based on AI security technology.

It was explained that this prevented damages worth approximately 163.8 billion won annually, when calculated based on the average damage of 50.24 million won per case of voice phishing. Both sides signed a supplementary agreement on the 16th to formalize the cooperation framework based on the results of the pilot operation.

This supplementary agreement specifies the detailed implementation plan of the pan-government public-private cooperation agreement signed last October.

It was established to enhance the damage prevention system by combining SK Telecom's AI security technology with the National Police Agency's investigative capabilities.

Both parties have been analyzing malicious apps secured by the National Police Agency using an analysis AI agent developed in-house by SK Telecom to extract Command & Control Server (C2) information, and utilizing this for investigations and damage prevention.

SK Telecom stated that command and control servers are a core infrastructure of voice phishing organizations that issue commands to malicious apps or direct the theft of personal and financial information and remote control.

SK Telecom stated that it provides C2 server information and customer access data to the National Police Agency immediately upon completion of analysis, and is operating a rapid response system that prioritizes the analysis and sharing of cases with a high risk of spreading damage.

Analyzing malicious apps requires expertise and time due to analysis hindering techniques such as obfuscation, execution environment detection, and communication concealment.

SK Telecom announced that it has reduced analysis time by approximately 81% by establishing an AI-based automated analysis system. Both parties plan to expand the scope of cooperation in the future to include malicious URL detection and pre-detection of suspected voice phishing numbers.

Oh Chang-bae, head of the National Police Agency's Integrated Response Team for Telecommunications and Financial Fraud, stated, "Thanks to SKT's AI technology, we were able to discover criminal infrastructure that had previously gone undetected and prevent damage," adding, "Preventing a voice phishing scam worth 600 million won just before the transfer last May is a tangible result of public-private cooperation."

Lee Jong-hyun, Head of SK Telecom's Integrated Security Center, said, "We were able to discover criminal servers and contribute to preventing damage through AI security technology," adding, "We will actively contribute to preventing voice phishing damage for all citizens."