For the prevention of security breaches in ICT SMEs
Security consulting and product implementation support


The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) announced on the 22nd that they will proceed with a supplementary budget project (4.5 billion won) to expand the cyber safety network for ICT SMEs.

Since February, when the COVID-19 outbreak intensified, cyber attack attempts have increased alongside the rise in online activity compared to the same period last year; however, concerns about cyber intrusion incidents are growing as one in five domestic companies invests less than 1% of their IT budget in information security.

According to the results of a survey on the status of information security, companies cited difficulty in finding necessary information security products and services (42.6%) and securing an information security budget (38.4%) as difficulties in information security, indicating a need for customized security products, services, and budget support that take into account the different environments of each company.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to expand the cyber safety net for ICT SMEs by diagnosing accurate security threats through customized consulting and supporting the costs of introducing information security products and services, increasing the number of participating companies from the existing 300 to 500 through the third supplementary budget.

Announcements for this supplementary budget project are currently underway on the Public Procurement Service's KONEPS. Detailed application methods and support information were shared with beneficiary companies through an online preliminary briefing on July 13, and related details are available at the Korea Internet & Security Agency.You can also check the announcements on the isa.or.kr website.

The existing program allowed for support of up to 10 million won per company, which only enabled measures for some vulnerable items. However, with this supplementary budget increasing support to up to 15 million won per company, it is expected that ICT SMEs will be protected from increasingly sophisticated hacking threats.

In addition, through this project, we plan to continue supporting the widespread adoption of security so that small and medium-sized enterprises can use non-face-to-face services easily and safely, in accordance with the '2nd Information Security Industry Promotion Plan (2021–2025)' announced in June.

Heo Seong-wook, Director General of Information Security and Network Policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, stated, “ICT SMEs, which are struggling with investment due to the economic downturn following COVID-19, are inevitably vulnerable to cyber attacks,” adding, “I hope that this supplementary budget project will help improve the information security level of ICT SMEs and revitalize the information security industry.”