[Exclusive] Hacking Attacks Persist… White-Hat Hacker Reward Budget of KRW 300 Million Already Depleted | #hacking | #cybersecurity | #infosec | #comptia | #pentest | #hacker

Over 203 Million Won Spent in the First Half of the Year Out of a 300 Million Won Budget
Concerns Over a ‘Security Gap’ After Suspension of Reward Payments

The budget for the “Security Vulnerability Reporting and Reward Program” operated by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), which pays rewards to white-hat hackers for reporting cybersecurity vulnerabilities, has essentially been depleted. As a result, reward payments have been suspended since September.

According to data submitted by Assemblywoman Lee Joohee of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee, on October 7, KISA spent KRW 203.45 million out of its KRW 300 million budget for the Security Vulnerability Reporting and Reward Program in the second quarter of this year. This means that more than two-thirds of the annual budget was exhausted in the first half of the year alone.

The pace of budget depletion is also faster than in previous years. Of the KRW 300 million budget, KISA spent KRW 262.01 million throughout 2024, while last year it executed a total of KRW 257.47 million.

A KISA representative stated, “We announced that reward payments would be suspended starting in September because the relevant budget is nearly depleted.” Commenting on the reasons for the faster depletion, the representative explained, “It could be due to the increased discovery of vulnerabilities as a result of advances in AI, or white-hat hackers being more proactive in reporting. There could be several factors involved.”

There are growing concerns that a gap in cybersecurity could emerge now that KISA has halted the payment of reporting rewards. In fact, in the three months before reward payments were suspended (June to August), an average of about 400 reports per month were filed, compared with only about 200 reports received last month.

Lee Joohee, a member of the Democratic Party, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily. Photo by Dongju Yoon

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A security industry official commented, “Public agencies like KISA cannot identify all security vulnerabilities on their own, so they essentially receive a form of civic service from the private sector. If rewards decrease or disappear, vulnerability reports are bound to decline in quality and quantity.”

Assemblywoman Lee Joohee stated, “As the threat of artificial intelligence (AI)-driven hacking increases, the role of white-hat hackers in finding vulnerabilities first, and the need for the reporting and reward program that encourages them, are more important than ever. Sufficient budget must be secured to ensure the program operates without interruption.”

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