[DigitalToday reporter Jin-ho Lee] The Ministry of Science and ICT said on March 16 it supported efforts to strengthen the security capabilities of regional and small and medium-sized companies, together with the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Korea Information Security Industry Association (KISIA), using the second supplementary budget for 2025.

Regional and small and medium-sized companies have often been cited as having relatively weak ability to respond to cyber threats due to shortages of budget, manpower and information. The ministry secured funding of 3.24 billion won through the second supplementary budget last year and pursued a project to strengthen their security capabilities.

It conducted free basic security vulnerability checks for 2,242 companies with IT assets. For vulnerabilities found, it provided company-by-company analysis reports and expert consulting. A total of 757 people from 567 companies took part in emergency security training for security managers and chief information security officers (CISOs) at major companies nationwide. A product consultation event held in parallel to link the training to sales growth opportunities for domestic information security companies drew 22 security firms and produced about 500 consultations.

The ministry also used the supplementary budget to develop a web-based security investment guide for small and medium-sized companies that provides information on security investment priorities and government support programmes. The guide is expected to be provided in the second quarter of this year after security reviews and other procedures.

Lim Jeong-gyu (임정규), director-general for Information Security and Network Policy at the ministry, said, "Small and medium-sized companies that support regional economies lack the conditions and are left in blind spots of cyber threats." He said, "Based on the results of the supplementary budget project, we will strengthen support to enhance their security capabilities."