Ahnlab warning of Internet attack

Ahn Chul-soo, president and chief executive of Ahnlab, Inc., the largest software anti-virus company in Korea, has warned of another potential Internet crisis. “There is still the possibility of a second Internet breakdown,” he said yesterday, referring to the Jan. 25 “Slammer Worm” virus that shut down Internet services throughout Korea and the rest of the world. Mr. Ahn said that while the incident had called people’s attention to the necessity of information security, the fundamental reasons for the breakdown remained unresolved. They included a lack of caution among Internet users and a transition in government which had left a gap in administrative policy to deal with computer virus server attacks. Ahnlab and its three security related subsidiaries, IA Security, Coconut, and Pimstech, jointly announced their business plans for the year, which were postponed to yesterday because of the January crisis. Mr. Ahn saw a gloomy outlook for the information security industry this year, even though dotcom companies had started to show signs of turnaround late last year. “Unlike other dotcom industries, in the information security market users need more time to mature,” he said. “Investments in software and hardware infrastructure have yet to make an impact, and the industry must still go through a period of consolidation.” But Mr. Ahn did not believe the information security market in Korea was oversaturated, as some industry analysts have argued. He predicted the industry would grow 25 percent to about 50 billion won ($42 million) this year. Ahnlab, which posted its worst performance since its founding in 1995, showed a net loss of 8.3 billion won on revenue of 24.8 billion won in fiscal 2002. The company said it had set goals for this year of 35 billion won in revenue and a turnaround in net profit of 9.8 billion won. by Kim Hyo-jin