Following consecutive hacking incidents at securities firms, asset management companies, and cryptocurrency exchanges, cybersecurity stocks surged across the board.
However, cautious views have emerged that the upward momentum may not be sustained solely on hacking issues, as the stock prices of U.S. cybersecurity companies that reported strong earnings showed mixed results.
On Friday, SGA Solutions closed at its daily limit up, rising 29.98% from the previous day to 2,575 won. AhnLab and RaonSecure also rose by more than 17% and 16%, respectively. In addition, Fasu AI (11.25%), Genians (11.00%), and Initex (8.56%) showed strong gains.
ETFs that include cybersecurity-themed stocks in their portfolios are also performing well. The 'TIGER Global AI Cybersecurity' ETF closed at 20,440 won, up 480 won (2.40%) from the previous day. This ETF had fallen to 10,545 won in April but has since trended upward amid fluctuations. The current stock price is about twice the level at that time.
The strength of cybersecurity stocks is interpreted as being driven by hacking damages in the financial sector spreading from banks to the financial investment industry and cryptocurrency exchanges. Recently, personal and credit information for 38,490 customers was leaked from Daishin Securities, and business-related information was breached at Mirae Asset Asset Management.
Bithumb also suffered a hack of its internal mobile groupware system, resulting in the leakage of personal data for 6,444 customers. Of these, the information of 844 individuals was exposed in an unencrypted state.
The government has also stepped up its response. The Presidential Office and the Ministry of Science and ICT, among others, held an emergency meeting on the 28th to discuss the scale of the damage and measures to prevent further spread.
The Ministry of Science and ICT will conduct emergency inspections of approximately 170 major private information and communication infrastructure facilities, including the three major telecommunications companies, by the end of the year. Police have begun preliminary investigations into hacking incidents at securities firms and cryptocurrency exchanges, and the Financial Supervisory Service is also launching on-site inspections.
In the securities industry, forecasts are emerging that cybersecurity demand will increase structurally. Kwon Myung-jun, a research analyst at Yuanta Securities, said, "Hacking incidents are spreading from the banking sector to financial companies as a whole."
Kwon added, "Under measures to strengthen accountability for public-sector cybersecurity, the scope of the cyber security status evaluation led by the National Intelligence Service is set to expand annually. Furthermore, an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Information Protection Industry Act, which expands the mandatory information protection disclosure targets to all listed companies, has been passed. Therefore, next year will be a year in which cybersecurity businesses grow evenly."
Han Yong-hee, a research analyst at Growth Research, noted, "As required functions continue to increase, customer payment costs are expected to rise over time," adding, "Information security investments are projected to increase, with SK Telecom planning 700 billion won and KT planning 1 trillion won over five years to respond to new security threats."
However, there are also points noting that short-term stock price trends should be viewed cautiously. In the U.S., the stock prices of cybersecurity companies that reported strong earnings were mixed. Overnight in the NASDAQ market, Fortinet plunged 20.09%, while Zenedigital, a consumer security software company, surged 15.81%.
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