KT is overhauling its companywide information security system centred on a newly formed information security office.

KT has redesigned its security structure, scope and overall operating standards around the information security office, which integrates previously dispersed security functions, it said on Wednesday. The core of the move is to build an execution-focused security system capable of constant prevention and pre-emptive response.

KT has consolidated dispersed security functions into the information security office and is launching an integrated companywide security governance model led by the chief information security officer (CISO). It has built a unified execution system covering organisation, staffing and budgets, and shifted to a structure in which companywide security risks are managed directly at the top management level.

It will operate a companywide consultative body to manage security risks across IT, networks and services in an integrated way. KT also reorganised its end-to-end incident response process to secure a rapid and consistent response system.

KT will gradually expand a security architecture based on the Zero Trust principle. It will apply a structure that continuously verifies all access across companywide systems. In response to advances in artificial intelligence (AI) technology, it will also expand its security management framework through AI, including using AI agents for simulated hacking. It is also working to strengthen security control over tangible and intangible assets, including home devices, outdoor base stations and software.

KT will also comprehensively reorganise its personal data protection system. It will refine its internal management system centred on the chief privacy officer (CPO) and strengthen its board reporting system.

It will also pre-emptively apply personal data protection measures for the AI environment and enhance customer data protection capabilities through a constant monitoring system. It will also inspect its security and personal data protection systems through an advisory committee composed of external experts to secure objectivity and credibility.

Lee Sang-woon (이상운), executive vice president and head of KT's information security office and CISO, said, "We will rebuild from the fundamentals of security and pursue a fundamental improvement in our constitution through a zero-trust-based system of constant prevention and pre-emptive response." He added, "Centred on the information security office, we will establish a foundation of trust that keeps customers safe and continue to build a security system that will support our leap into an AX platform company."