Woori Bank and the Financial Security Institute wrapped up the WooriCON simulated hacking competition aimed at discovering young information-security talent and held an awards ceremony for top teams.

Woori Bank said on Oct. 29 that it held the sixth WooriCON awards ceremony with the Financial Security Institute on Oct. 28 at its headquarters in Jung-gu, central Seoul.

WooriCON is a simulated hacking competition that Woori Bank launched in 2021 as the first in the banking sector. This year marked its sixth edition. It is run to foster young information-security talent and support job placements.

This year's contest ran for 2 weeks from Sept. 7 to 18. A total of 109 university and graduate students took part, forming 40 teams.

Participants conducted simulated hacking of Woori Bank's internet banking and WooriWON Banking using a bug bounty approach. They carried out tasks to identify security vulnerabilities and hacking risk factors.

A panel of judges made up of Financial Security Institute security experts, white hackers and information-security faculty assessed teams based on the overall risk and impact of the vulnerabilities they found, as well as creativity and other factors.

The judging selected 4 winning teams across the grand prize, top prize, excellence prize and encouragement prize categories. The teams will share total prize money of 4,600,000 won and receive preferential treatment in document screening when applying for jobs in Woori Bank's Tech division and at the Financial Security Institute.

Woori Bank CEO Jin Wan Jeong (정진완) said, "No matter how advanced hacking techniques become, the power to prevent financial incidents ultimately comes from staying true to the basics." He added, "We will continue to support WooriCON so it becomes a gateway for young people who will lead financial security."