South Korean Company Awarded FinTech Security Patent 🚨 This article is 6 years old...
News ▸ South Korea ▸ Adoption
South Korean Company Awarded FinTech Security Patent
2 min read
Updated: Mar. 24, 2020 at 6:49 am UTC
Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels
KB Financial Group, a South Korean based financial holding company, has just been awarded a patent for its application security technology, according to a report in South Korean media outlet The Digital Times.
Two Degrees of Separation
KB Financial has developed technology that separates the security program from the app as a whole – meaning a user would no longer have to re-download an application when an update was required. Instead, the app “calls” the separate security program whenever the user launches it. If it determines a security upgrade is needed, only that portion of the app needs to be updated.
The technology even offers a further degree of separation, according to the Times: the encryption key at the core of the security program can be separated from the security portion of the app and stored on the blockchain.
Both degrees of separation purportedly safeguard against hacking. If a mobile app gets hacked, the security protocol is separate, and can still prevent your financial app from conducting unauthorized transactions. If the security module is compromised, a hacker can’t do anything without the key.
Poised to Help Countries With Heavy Mobile Use
This technology will likely be a huge boon to countries in Southeast Asia, where more people rely on their mobile devices to conduct transactions and make payments compared to North America or Europe. KB Financial is looking to introduce its product to these markets.
Earlier this year, both KB Financial and Bank of Korea released reports showing a distinct lack of interest in cryptocurrencies among the average consumer. In the KB Report, 75 percent of those who responded said they had no interest in becoming involved with crypto. Bank of Korea’s report in July simply noted crypto as “not a threat” to the country’s economy, because so few of its citizens hold digital assets, stating:
“The amount of crypto-asset investment is not really big, compared with other equity markets, and local financial institutions’ exposure to possible risks of digital assets is insignificant. Against this backdrop, we expect crypto-assets to have a limited impact on the South Korean financial market.”
KB Financial’s patent is well-timed. Companies like LG U+, also based in South Korea, are expanding their mobile payment networks via partnerships with other carriers in other countries. LG U+ now has an agreement with companies in both Taiwan and Japan for cross-carrier payments, and a trial run is scheduled for early 2019.
The company, which reportedly controls around $342BN in assets, was also recently upgraded from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating by Zacks Investment Research as of Sept. 19.
Zacks Investment Research Upgrades KB Financial Group $KB to “Hold” https://t.co/ooG5gJXdyn
— Dakota Financial (@dakotafinancial) October 10, 2018
