Soosan INT Co., a South Korean provider of IT security services, said on Thursday that it will launch an innovative anti-data leakage solution as early as next month.

The solution, dubbed Virtual Shield, was developed to protect computer data from unauthorized users. Even if a hacker gains access to the network, the hacker cannot see data folders designated by a user for protection. This means a user can control data visibility depending on user access levels.

Virtual Shield can fundamentally block personal data leakage or ransomware which is causing many problems, said Soosan INT chairman Chung Suk-hyun.

The new solution is an application that uses virtualization technology, a burgeoning trend in the security industry recently. Virtualization is a technology that breaks down single hardware or operating system into multiple pieces or combines multiple pieces into a single system.

Using virtualization software, one hardware or OS can be partitioned into many parts, or partitioned virtual hardware or OS can be combined.

Unlike vaccines that respond to malignant codes or virus infection by analyzing the code, Virtual Shield fundamentally shed these issues by limiting an outsider’s access from the beginning.

Virtual Shield is a testimony of Soosan INT’s continuous research and development efforts. Chairman Chung said that if he were to expand the company in size, it wouldn’t have focused so much on R&D while losing money for 10 years.

Chung said that Soosan INT is the world’s first company to successfully commercialize a security solution that applies virtualization technology. Virtual Shield is under stability testing and will be out in the market as early as next month.

Chung’s management philosophy is solely based on technology development. He believes that a company with superb technology will eventually be recognized in the market and duly evaluated. Of the company’s office workers, 30 percent are dedicated to R&D. Even in 2008 when the company suffered from a loss of some 20 billion won ($18 million) due to risky knock-in/knock-out (KIKO) currency contracts, the company increased R&D spending.

This isn’t the case of only Soosan INT but also other Soosan affiliates including Soosan Heavy Industries Co., a construction equipment unit, and and Soosan ENS Co., a nuclear machinery company.

Soosan Heavy Industries has grown to become the world’s fifth-largest provider of hydraulic brakers. Soosan Industries Co., the parent company, has also become the country’s leading player in the nuclear machinery market, with Soosan ENS outstanding in software maintenance.

By Chung Soon-woo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]