Aton said on Tuesday it signed a business agreement with the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) as a specialist provider of a malicious text pre-blocking system solution. It will supply pre-blocking systems to internet messaging service providers and issue introduction confirmation documents required for registration as a value-added telecommunications service provider, it said.

Internet messaging service providers (value-added telecommunications service providers) are businesses that send text messages by connecting a text message sending system to a message relay operator. These businesses can register as value-added telecommunications service providers with the Central Radio Management Office under the Ministry of Science and ICT only after obtaining transmission qualification certification from the Korea Communications Commission and putting in place technical measures for a malicious text pre-blocking system.

Under the cooperation, Aton and KISA will build a partnership to jointly respond to malicious text messages by providing a system for sharing threat information such as malicious texts, establishing a joint response process for malicious texts, and sharing implementation performance and cooperation results from the agreement.

The service supplied by Aton is a malicious URL and spam pre-blocking platform called BUF (Bad URL Farm). It links with malicious URL information provided by KISA and detects in real time malicious URLs included not only in SMS but also in messengers such as KakaoTalk and Telegram and social networks such as Instagram and Facebook.

The government earlier made it mandatory on April 28, through a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Telecommunications Business Act, for internet messaging service providers to operate a malicious text pre-blocking system that automatically detects and blocks risk factors such as malicious URLs.

Aton CEO Gil-soo Woo (우길수) said URLs used for smishing disappear within days and are newly created, making it difficult to keep up with the speed using only information secured by a single institution. He said Aton will combine its verified detection capabilities with KISA threat information to help businesses respond without disruption to the strengthened requirements.