[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyung-il ] Cybersecurity-related stocks are surging as a series of artificial intelligence (AI) hacking incidents have occurred in the financial sector. The securities industry believes that the cybersecurity industry’s potential for structural growth will increase if the government’s specific security policies align with companies’ expanded investments.

According to MP Doctor on the 7th, cybersecurity-related stocks surged; based on the day’s closing price, RaonSecure Co., Ltd.(042510)closed at 16,710 won, up 50.1% from the 30th of last month. During the same period, GENIANS, INC.(263860)rose 19.2% to 23,050 won, AHNLAB,INC.(053800)climbed 3.9% to 77,700 won, and SANDS LAB Inc.(411080)gained 30.8% to close at 8,500 won. On the 6th, security stocks showed a broad-based rally, with RaonSecure Co., Ltd. and SANDS LAB Inc. each rising by nearly 30%.

This upward trend coincided with a series of recent personal data breaches in the financial sector. On the 1st, loan-related information for approximately 25,000 customers was leaked from Shinhan Bank, and on the 2nd, about 100 customer records were leaked from KB Kookmin Bank due to an external intrusion. In particular, since financial institutions hold large volumes of customer personal and financial transaction data—meaning the scale of damage and liability are significant in the event of an incident—it is increasingly likely that they will use this situation as an opportunity to thoroughly review their overall security systems.

The trend toward strengthened security in the financial sector is likely to spread to the public sector as well. The number of public sector institutions subject to cybersecurity assessments is scheduled to expand from the current 153 to 868 in 2027 and 2,160 in 2028. The expansion of security assessments, along with the establishment of dedicated organizations and the hiring of additional personnel, has created conditions for growth in the business-to-government (B2G) security market. As the number of institutions subject to evaluation increases, demand for related solutions and services is likely to rise as each institution assesses its security level and addresses vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, enhanced security frameworks—such as “zero-trust,” which verifies user permissions every time an internal system is accessed on the assumption of potential external intrusion—are cited as a key driver of increased security investment. As security standards for public institutions are tightened, not only will the adoption of related solutions increase, but security firms that have gained experience building security infrastructure in the public sector may also expand their business scope into the private market.

The institutional foundation to support expanded security investment is also being established. ShinyoungSecurities previously projected that stricter penalties for personal data breaches and expanded disclosure requirements for information security investments and personnel would structurally increase corporate security investment. The firm also cited the rise in Network Access Control (NAC) contracts for large corporations, increased sales to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the full-scale adoption of Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions—which detect and respond to anomalous activity on endpoints—as growth drivers for the relevant market.

With the addition of AI security as a variable to these policies and market conditions, the likelihood of companies expanding their security investments is also increasing. As the possibility of AI-enabled attacks comes to the fore, areas may emerge that are difficult to address with existing security systems alone; consequently, companies may seek security consulting or consider new security solutions.

Some analysts also note that there may be differences between individual companies regarding the correlation between the strength of security stocks and actual growth in the security industry. Since only a few domestic security firms have a market capitalization exceeding 100 billion won, smaller companies may experience significant stock price volatility depending on individual issues.

In particular, the securities industry advises that, for increased security investment to be reflected in corporate earnings, it is necessary to examine which security sectors are seeing demand and whether the company in question can secure contracts in those markets. They explain that the effectiveness of increased investment may vary depending on a company’s competitive strength—such as whether it operates in sectors directly linked to actual demand for enhanced security, like EDR or biometric authentication, and whether it possesses the capability to secure contracts in those markets. Ultimately, this means that the key indicator for assessing corporate performance may be not the hacking incident itself, but whether actual security budgets are allocated and orders for related solutions are placed in the aftermath of such incidents.

Kwon Myung-jun, an analyst at Yuanta Securities Korea, stated, “Structural growth requires government policy, and companies must demonstrate a willingness to make proactive investments,” adding, “If these two factors align, structural growth becomes possible.” He added, “Even after last year’s SKTelecom hacking incident, there was no clear increase in security investment in industries other than telecommunications,” noting, “Even when hacking incidents occur, if the response is limited to individual companies, security investment does not spread to other sectors.”