The recent global cyber outage caused by Microsoft (MS) has drawn attention to South Korean cybersecurity companies. The incident highlighted the importance of cybersecurity, with local firms providing related solutions expected to benefit. The security solution update error from the world’s largest software company has become an opportunity for other businesses.
According to the Korea Exchange on July 24, the stock prices of Korean cybersecurity firms surged following the cyber outage. On the first trading day after the incident, SGA Solutions saw its stock price increase by 19.78% on July 22, closing at 654 won, compared to the previous trading day. The stock prices of other security solution providers, such as Monitorapp and Genians, also rose sharply. As of July 23, Genians’ stock price stood at 8,880 won, up 6.73% compared to July 19, just before the cyber outage. Monitorapp’s stock even spiked by over 9% due to the incident.
The issue began on July 19 when cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike released an updated security program that clashed with MS Windows, affecting approximately 8.5 million devices. The disruption impacted services across various sectors, including aviation, broadcasting, telecommunications, and finance. Although the error originated from CrowdStrike, the impact was felt globally due to its interaction with MS systems. MS acknowledged the issue, stating that less than 1% of devices were affected, but the economic and social impact was widespread.
Various sectors in Korea also faced disruptions. Low-cost carriers such as Jeju Air, Eastar Jet, and Air Premia experienced issues with their ticketing and reservation systems, which were restored after about 12 hours. Game companies like Pearl Abyss, which operates ‘Black Desert,’ and Gravity, the operator of ‘Ragnarok Online,’ also reported service interruptions. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, ten Korean companies were affected by the incident, but all have since completed recovery.
The cybersecurity industry views this global cyber outage as an opportunity for growth. Kim Seung-hyuk, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities, said, “This incident has made the necessity of cybersecurity more palpable. Given the extent of the disruption caused by just a few hours of cyber error, there is ample reason to expect a heightened demand for security solutions.”
SGA Solutions primarily focuses on server and cloud security solutions. Monitorapp, which provides security services for web servers and was listed on the KOSDAQ market last May, offers a web firewall product called AIWAF that protects against hacking attempts on web servers.
Genians, which specializes in Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) systems, is expected to benefit from the situation as its business overlaps with CrowdStrike’s. The service from CrowdStrike that conflicted with Windows was the EDR solution Falcon Sensor, which quickly detects, analyzes, and responds to malware and abnormal behaviors threatening user devices. Genians was the first to develop such a solution in Korea in 2017.
Shim Eui-seob, an NH Investment & Securities analyst, said, “With the strengthening of security policies globally, Genians’ business opportunities are likely to increase. Genians’ EDR solution held a 78% market share in the public procurement market last year.”
