Upbit Poured 62.7 Billion Won into Security, But the 44.5 Billion Won Hacking Leaves a Task: 'Restoring Trust'

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Dunamu, which operates the digital asset exchange Upbit, has invested 62.7 billion won in information security over the past five years, accelerating the strengthening of its security capabilities. However, given the large-scale hacking incident last year and the controversy over delayed incident notification, market attention is focused on whether this expanded investment can lead to the restoration of user trust.

Dunamu announced on the 29th that it has invested a total of 62.7 billion won in the information security sector over the past five years. Last year's investment amounted to 24.34 billion won, a 64.7% increase from approximately 14.8 billion won in the previous year. Among last year's information technology (IT) investment of 210.33 billion won, the proportion of information security investment was 11.6%, significantly exceeding the average of 6.28% for domestic companies. The number of dedicated information security personnel also more than quadrupled, from 9.9 in 2021 to 43.9 last year.

Dunamu conducts regular internal IT security audits for Upbit and maintains seven domestic and international security certifications, including the Information Security and Personal Information Protection Management System (ISMS-P). Furthermore, it explained that it is strengthening its security system by operating a total of 12 user protection activities, such as the Upbit Bug Bounty Program, phishing prevention guidelines, and voice phishing prevention campaigns.

However, despite large-scale investments, the challenge of restoring user trust remains. In November last year, Upbit experienced a hacking incident where approximately 44.5 billion won worth of Solana-related assets were illicitly transferred to an external wallet. Subsequently, some of the stolen assets were frozen, and compensation procedures were carried out. According to data released last June, Upbit compensated approximately 790 million won in connection with the incident. At the time, controversy also arose regarding the timing of the announcement, as the hacking incident was disclosed only after an event had concluded.

Security investment is a key factor in exchange competitiveness, but safety is not guaranteed by investment scale alone. The industry believes that trust can only be secured when actual incident prevention capabilities, speed of crisis response, and transparent communication with users are all supported. It is particularly important to continuously advance not only prevention systems but also prompt notification and response processes in the event of an incident, as cyberattacks targeting exchanges are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

Jung Jae-yong, Dunamu's Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), stated, "The value of digital finance can only be sustained based on customer trust," adding, "We will continue to invest and strive to protect customer assets." The industry views Dunamu's aggressive security investments, along with actual security achievements and the restoration of user trust, as key challenges that will determine its future competitiveness.

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