Zero Trust Gains Attention Amid Wave of Hacking Attacks, but Related Budgets Are Being Cut
IT DAILY ·
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As hacking incidents in the financial sector continue, zero trust, which continuously verifies the identity and access privileges of users, is drawing attention.
The National Assembly Research Service said the budget and support system are insufficient compared with the zero-trust expansion goal.
The budget for the zero-trust pilot project fell every year, to KRW 6.2 billion in 2024, KRW 5.6 billion in 2025, and KRW 4.5 billion this year.
As hacking incidents in the financial sector continue to pile up, “zero trust,” which continuously verifies the identity and access privileges of users, is drawing attention. Financial regulators have also called for rebuilding security systems based on zero-trust principles.
Zero trust is a security concept and framework that does not trust users or devices simply because they are inside the internal network or have previously been authenticated. It verifies access requests on the premise that the network may be compromised, and grants only the minimum privileges needed for work.
In August, the National Assembly Research Service published a report titled “2026 National Audit Issues Analysis.” The report said the government had set a goal of driving the full-scale spread of zero trust by 2027, but noted that the budget and support system related to government policy remain insufficient.
The report said related budgets have declined every year. It also pointed out that there is no survey to assess corporate adoption levels, and that specialized support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises that are vulnerable to security threats are also lacking.
As the importance of zero trust has been highlighted in the wake of recent breaches in the financial sector, financial authorities have urged financial firms to strengthen security based on zero trust. A response meeting held on the 4th was attended by CEOs from the financial sector, government ministries, and officials from related institutions. Kim Byung-hwan, Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said hacking techniques that exploit unexpected vulnerabilities are spreading rapidly as AI advances, and urged financial firms to accelerate the upgrading of security systems based on zero-trust principles.
However, apart from the growing interest in zero trust, government support for its spread is being reduced. In 2023, the government announced the “Strategy to Secure Global Competitiveness in the Information Security Industry” and unveiled a plan to drive the full-scale spread of zero trust by 2027.
But the budget for the zero-trust pilot program fell to KRW 6.2 billion in 2024, KRW 5.6 billion in 2025, and KRW 4.5 billion this year, declining every year. As a result, a gap is emerging between policy goals and fiscal investment.
It was found that the government’s zero-trust expansion policy is managed only with a focus on the number of support cases, while systems to inspect and measure actual spread remain inadequate. According to materials the Ministry of Science and ICT submitted to the National Assembly Research Service, the government’s performance management standard for its zero-trust expansion project is the number of pilot deployments supported. By contrast, there is no survey to determine how many companies have actually switched their security systems to zero trust. The report also said the government’s evaluation indicators for gauging the level of spread and its survey system are insufficient.
Support for small and medium-sized enterprises was found to be limited. Of 8 companies selected for last year’s pilot project, only 1 was a small or medium-sized enterprise. Although SMEs lack the personnel and budget to build and operate zero trust on their own, the National Assembly Research Service said separate support considering SME conditions is needed, while noting that no related program exists. The report also pointed out that incentives for adoption, such as preferential treatment in public procurement and tax support, are absent.
The National Assembly Research Service proposed an appropriate budget and expansion plan for the zero-trust project, along with ways to improve survey and performance indicators, as issues to be reviewed during the audit. This was presented with the idea that, in addition to budget and project expansion, it is necessary to supplement the survey and indicator systems that can confirm actual adoption status.
However, the relevant issues did not stand out much during the actual audit. Rep. Choi Hyeong-du of the People Power Party pointed out that the budget for zero trust is declining every year, but there was little additional discussion beyond his remarks.
Source: IT DAILY · Kim Ho-jun
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=242129
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Source: IT DAILY
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