Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- KT, South Korea's largest telecom company, has partnered with Gemalto, a global telecommunication module maker, to share technologies and to cooperate in connected car businesses in the global market.

KT said in a statement on Tuesday that it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Amsterdam-based digital security company to co-develop and distribute connected car telecommunication modules embedded with GiGAstealth, KT's blockchain-based network security platform, in the global business-to-business (B2B) Market by the end of this year.

"Through continuous cooperation, KT and Geamalto will lead the 5G-based connected car security industry and take care of our customers' safety," KT's future platform business group head Lee Dong-myeon was quoted as saying.

GiGAstealth uses blockchain technology to hide users' IP addresses in mobile networks. Because users' IP addresses are hidden, networks using KT's security platform are virtually unhackable. KT has said earlier that the blockchain-based security platform is ideal for protecting connected cars connected to 5G networks from hacking attacks.

During the last few years, KT has been beefing up its capability in the global connected car market by developing security platforms as well as infotainment systems and vehicle control platforms. The South Korean telecom giant provides connected car platforms to 14 global carmakers including Hyundai Motor and Mercedes Benz.

As the global connected car market is estimated to reach $219.2 billion by 2025, the global automotive cyber security market is also projected to grow to %5.7 billion by 2025, according to global market research company MarketsandMarkets.