Advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have accelerated digital transformation and significantly improved the convenience of financial and telecommunications services. However, these developments have also intensified the sophisti...
Advances in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) have accelerated digital transformation and significantly improved the convenience of financial and telecommunications services. However, these developments have also intensified the sophistication of cyber threats that exploit ICT environments. In particular, phishing attacks that deceive users to steal personal, authentication, and financial information are rapidly evolving, and attacks leveraging malicious applications—such as remote control and data exfiltration—are causing substantial financial damage. Because these phishing attacks cross the boundaries of cybersecurity, telecommunications, and financial security domains, countermeasures developed independently within each sector have limited effectiveness in mitigating real-world harm.
Existing response structures operate in silos: cybersecurity agencies conduct malware analysis, telecommunications providers detect suspicious network behavior, and financial institutions rely on Fraud Detection Systems (FDS). Yet, real-time protection of victims is difficult because information does not flow seamlessly across institutions. Cybersecurity agencies possess malware analysis capabilities but cannot directly identify infected users; telecommunications providers can detect compromised devices through network traffic but cannot safeguard financial transactions; financial institutions can detect anomalies in customer transactions but lack the means to determine whether a user is infected with a malicious app, limiting their ability to perform timely protective actions. The absence of a cohesive link between infection detection and victim protection allows attackers to act faster than defensive measures, resulting in continued financial losses.
To address this limitation, this study proposes an automated cooperative response pipeline model integrating cybersecurity agencies, telecommunications providers, and financial institutions. In this model, malicious app analysis results generated by cybersecurity agencies are used by telecommunications providers to identify infected users, and the corresponding infection information is securely transmitted to financial institutions. Financial institutions can then implement targeted protection measures—such as enhanced authentication or temporary transaction suspension—before fraudulent transactions occur. The proposed model incorporates DNS sinkhole-based detection and a privacy-preserving CI (Connecting Information) hash-matching mechanism to enable cross-sector collaboration without exposing personal data.
A four-month pilot deployment (December 2024–March 2025) analyzed 6,650 malicious apps and extracted 78 malicious domains used for sinkhole monitoring. Despite legal constraints restricting direct sharing of personal information, collaboration with investigative authorities enabled the accurate identification and remediation of 2,610 infected users. Based on the average domestic phishing loss per victim, the pilot prevented an estimated KRW 107 billion in potential financial damage. Moreover, performance evaluation confirmed that DNS sinkhole application did not introduce noticeable latency. The study also provides institutional improvement proposals and detailed implementation guidelines to ensure the model’s feasibility under current regulatory frameworks.
The proposed cooperative pipeline model shifts the phishing response paradigm from detection-centric to victim-protection-centric. By enabling proactive intervention before monetary loss occurs, the model demonstrates significant potential to substantially reduce phishing-related financial damage and establish a new foundation for cross-sector collaborative defense.