[E-Daily Reporter Kim Hyung-il ] Union Biometrics ( Union community Co., Ltd.(203450)), a biometrics-based artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure security company, announced on the 6th that it is expanding into the user authentication and access control market by implementing its facial recognition-based integrated biometric authentication solution, “UBio-ezPass,” for NH Nonghyup Bank and the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

UBio-ezPass is a solution that adds facial recognition to existing password-based login methods to verify the user’s identity. It verifies user identity during Windows login and access to business systems, and supports user-specific access history management and policy-based access control. It also provides a feature that automatically locks the screen when it detects that a registered user has left their seat or when another person is viewing the work screen.

The importance of multi-factor authentication (MFA) in the financial sector has come to the forefront following a recent series of hacking attacks targeting major domestic banks, savings banks, and finance companies. While some financial institutions have experienced personal information leaks, Nonghyup Bank and Woori Bank reportedly faced attack attempts but have not confirmed any data breaches to date.

The police have formed a dedicated investigation team consisting of four teams and 28 officers to launch an investigation. According to the financial sector, these attacks were carried out by exploiting the search functions of web pages and business systems to repeatedly retrieve information as if they were legitimate users, rather than by directly infiltrating databases (DBs).

Park Sang-won, President of the Korea Financial Security Institute, explained the difference between financial institutions that suffered damage and those that did not, citing the implementation of multi-factor authentication (MFA) as one of the key factors. It is reported that the four financial institutions where external access was detected also had MFA in place and thus suffered no damage.

UNION biometrics explained that no direct causal relationship has been confirmed between this financial sector hacking incident and its solution deployed at NH Nonghyup Bank. However, the company noted that it is significant that Nonghyup Bank has been operating a facial recognition-based user authentication system, especially since financial authorities have cited MFA as a key security element in this incident.

An official from UNION biometrics stated, “As AI-based attacks become more sophisticated, security relying solely on simple passwords has its limitations,” adding, “The importance of MFA systems that verify actual users by utilizing biometric authentication technologies, such as facial recognition, is growing.”

The spokesperson added, “We expect demand for ‘Identity Security’—focused on user authentication and access control—to grow not only in the financial sector but also among public institutions and corporations, and UNION biometrics plans to continue expanding its presence in this market.”