[DigitalToday reporter Jin-ho Lee] LG Uplus' integrated account management service Alphakey has obtained the Cloud Security Assurance Program (CSAP) software-as-a-service (SaaS) standard grade, the first such certification for an identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) service in South Korea.

On Aug. 6, LG Uplus said, "Based on the certification, we plan to expand the Alphakey business to government bodies, public institutions and public corporations."

CSAP is a system under which the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) certifies whether a cloud provider's service complies with information security standards. It is cited as a mandatory requirement for supplying cloud services to the public sector.

Launched last year, Alphakey is a cloud-based service that integrates management of corporate employees' account information and access rights for each work system and SaaS. It provides a single sign-on (SSO) function that allows access to multiple business services with a single account. It also has a function to respond to security threats by detecting abnormal behavior such as abnormal logins and misuse of privileges in real time.

It applies homomorphic encryption technology that processes data while it is encrypted. It also uses post-quantum cryptography (PQC)-based authentication technology to protect sensitive information and business assets in a quantum computer environment.

LG Uplus will use the CSAP certification to step up its push into the public market. It is developing Alphakey optimized for public cloud environments and is conducting free proof-of-concept (PoC) tests with some public institutions. The company plans to officially launch Alphakey for public institutions as early as the first quarter of next year, reflecting the test results. It also plans to provide a security full-stack service covering network security and security operations monitoring.

Park Sung-yul (박성율), executive vice president and head of LG Uplus' Enterprise Business Innovation Group, said, "Alphakey is a culmination of security technology accumulated by LG Uplus and our in-house service capabilities," adding, "We will work to establish it as a trusted service in the public sector as well."