'Comtrue Technology' Wins Grand Prize at Personal Information Technology Contest

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Jo] The Personal Information Protection Commission announced on the 20th that Comtrue Technology Co., Ltd. won the grand prize in the 'Personal Information Protection and Utilization Technology Development Startup Challenge,' held jointly with the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA).

This competition, the first technology contest in the field of personal information, aims to discover startups with excellent technologies that enhance personal information protection or enable the safe utilization of personal information, and to support the commercialization process of these technologies.

A total of 21 teams participated, and after document and presentation evaluations, three outstanding technologies were finally selected: one grand prize winner (Personal Information Protection Commission Chairman Award) and two excellence award winners (KISA Director Award). The three companies will receive a total of 210 million KRW in follow-up development funds and consulting on personal information protection laws and technologies.

Comtrue Technology, the grand prize winner, proposed a technology that classifies images of identification cards and major certificates using artificial intelligence and finds personal information within documents to de-identify (mask) it. This technology utilizes AI to improve accuracy and reduce trial-and-error errors that occurred when finding personal information using conventional image scanning methods. It is evaluated as a technology that can significantly contribute to reducing previous trial-and-error issues.

Dataus Co., Ltd., an excellence award winner, proposed a technology that supports pseudonymized information linkage by identifying pseudonymization targets, measuring risk levels, and evaluating the re-identification possibility and appropriateness of pseudonymized information. This technology is expected to be in high demand as it supports easier implementation of pseudonymized information utilization.

Another excellence award winner, Sensstone Co., Ltd., proposed OTAC (One-Time Authentication Code) technology that enables user identification and authentication without entering user information (ID). Compared to existing methods such as OTP, which require entering an ID when logging into a system, OTAC allows login with a single input of a string generated by OTAC, minimizing personal information exposure.

Park Sanghee, Secretary General of the Personal Information Protection Commission, stated, “The Commission plans to hold this event annually to encourage startups and SMEs to take interest in new technology-based personal information protection and utilization technologies and secure excellent technologies. We will continue to provide support to enhance the competitiveness of the selected companies.”