Personal Information Protection Commission Supports Private Sector Technology Development Including Personal Data De-identification Techniques

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] The Personal Information Protection Commission and the Korea Internet & Security Agency announced on the 5th that they successfully supported the technology development of private companies last year, including de-identification technology for personal information in major certificates such as identification cards.

This support project was carried out in various ways, including providing technology development funds and legal and technical consulting to three outstanding companies selected at the "1st Personal Information Protection and Utilization Technology Development Startup Challenge" held in June last year.

The supported company, Comtrue Technology, is a company that develops technology to detect personal information in identification cards and major certificates through artificial intelligence and de-identify (mask) it. The number of major certificates whose personal information can be detected and de-identified increased from 13 types before the support project to 25 types afterward, and related patents have been filed.

Also, Datas is a company that develops an integrated management solution for pseudonymization and anonymization of personal information. During the support period, Datas focused on developing technology to generate and verify virtual data with statistical characteristics identical to the original data. The Personal Information Protection Commission reported that this technology passed the preliminary examination for patent application at the Korean Intellectual Property Office.

Lastly, Senstone is a company that develops OTAC (One-Time Authentication Code) technology, which enables authentication at once without entering an ID and password. During the support project period, Senstone enhanced the business feasibility of this technology by developing fingerprint recognition cards and connected car digital key apps.

Lee Jeong-ryeol, Director of the Personal Information Policy Bureau at the Personal Information Protection Commission, said, "The Personal Information Protection Commission will continue to expand research and development (R&D) and technology support projects for personal information protection and utilization technologies in response to the digital transformation and the spread of the data era."

From this year, the Personal Information Protection Commission plans to expand the target companies and support scale so that more benefits can be provided to small and medium-sized enterprises and startups.