Recruiting Participants for White Hat Together with a Total Prize of 30 Million Won

Second Annual Event Following Last Year
Recruiting SMEs, Mid-sized Companies, White Hackers, and University Students
Deadline July 21... Total Prize Money for White Hackers 30 Million Won

The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) announced on the 23rd that it is recruiting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), white-hat hackers, and university students to participate in 'Whitehat Together' in collaboration with CJ OliveNetworks (CEO Cha In-hyuk). White-hat hackers are those who identify security vulnerabilities in computer systems or networks and disclose them before malicious hackers can exploit them, without using them for harmful purposes. SMEs, white-hat hackers, and university students interested in participating can check detailed information and apply by the 21st of next month through the Open Innovation Hubpot.

SMEs can choose from the following areas: ▲ New security vulnerability discovery competition (bug bounty) ▲ Customized security consulting for each company ▲ Security solution support (SECaaS) (up to 5 million KRW). Especially, participants in the bug bounty competition held throughout August can also receive vulnerability and information security consulting. This year, the support target has been expanded from SMEs to include medium-sized enterprises to allow more companies to benefit, and the number of selected companies has increased from 20 to up to 50.

Any white-hat hacker wishing to participate can join by registering as a security expert on the bug bounty platform. Reported vulnerabilities will undergo validity review and evaluation, with up to 1 million KRW awarded per vulnerability on a differential basis. The total prize pool is 30 million KRW. Eleven outstanding white-hat hackers will be awarded certificates jointly signed by the Director of KISA and the CEO of CJ OliveNetworks.

The purpose of Whitehat Together stems from recent hacking incidents exploiting security vulnerabilities in software and solutions. In particular, SMEs and medium-sized enterprises face high risks of security incidents such as ransomware infections and corporate information leaks. Companies applying the latest technologies such as AI, big data, and biometric recognition may suffer large-scale damage due to critical information leaks. Accordingly, KISA has been operating the Whitehat Together program, a win-win initiative between companies and white-hat hackers, in partnership with CJ OliveNetworks since last year.

Choi Kwang-hee, Head of KISA's Cyber Incident Response Division, stated, “In the current situation where security incidents exploiting vulnerabilities are increasing, it is important to quickly discover and address new vulnerabilities and strengthen companies' security capabilities.” He added, “KISA will continue to strive to enhance the capabilities of companies and security talents through private sector cooperation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.