CEO Young-cheol Cho: "We will concentrate on Public, Enterprise, and Education sectors... and establish 'PIOPLATFORM' to support global expansion."

 

The New Year of 2026, the Year of the Red Horse, has dawned. Last year was plagued by continuous large-scale security incidents. From major telecommunications companies to large retail and platform businesses, hacking incidents caused widespread anxiety over personal data leaks. Global hacking groups roamed through major domestic sites as if they were their own backyards.

What about this year? It is predicted that 2026 will be the year where AI-driven hacking attacks become more frequent and intense. In response, security companies utilizing AI for "defense" are expected to become more robust.
When companies grow, the security ecosystem revitalizes, making our society safer. Who will race ahead like a red horse this year? ZDNet Korea interviewed promising security companies to watch in 2026.
 

The New Year of 2026, the Year of the Red Horse, has dawned. Last year was plagued by continuous large-scale security incidents. From major telecommunications companies to large retail and platform businesses, hacking incidents caused widespread anxiety over personal data leaks. Global hacking groups roamed through major domestic sites as if they were their own backyards.

What about this year? It is predicted that 2026 will be the year where AI-driven hacking attacks become more frequent and intense. In response, security companies utilizing AI for "defense" are expected to become more robust.
When companies grow, the security ecosystem revitalizes, making our society safer. Who will race ahead like a red horse this year? ZDNet Korea interviewed promising security companies to watch in 2026.
 

CEO Young-cheol Cho shared these ambitions in his New Year interview. Founded in July 2000, PIOLINK aims to be the "Cisco of Korea." CEO Cho, who holds a Ph.D. from Seoul National University, founded the company with lab colleagues.

PIOLINK is a pioneer in localization, achieving the No. 1 market share in the domestic ADC (Application Delivery Controller) market against global vendors. CEO Cho also serves as the Chairman of KISIA (Korea Information Security Industry Association).

 

Interview with CEO Young-cheol Cho

Q. Looking back at 2025, what were the major achievements?

"2025 was a year where the question 'Did we keep the service running?' became more important than 'Did we block the attack?' Amid frequent failures and vulnerabilities, business continuity became a critical task across security, networks, and infrastructure. We had three major achievements:

 

1. Shift to Resilience: Moving beyond simple defense, we provided products and services that ensure continuous operation and recovery (Cyber Resilience). This includes Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI), Disaster Recovery (DR), Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB), Web Security, and CTI.
2. Success in Zero Trust: Our 'TiFRONT ZT', based on security switch micro-segmentation, drew significant market response. It controls resource access based on the 'least privilege principle' and has been successfully adopted by public institutions.
3. Global Expansion: We saw visible growth in overseas revenue, especially in Japan with increased adoption of security switches and APs. We also maintained double-digit growth rates in Southeast Asia."

 

 

Q. 2026 is expected to see a rise in AI threats. How do you view the security market this year?

"The market is shifting from 'blocking attacks perfectly' to 'building a structure that can rapidly detect, block, and recover assuming a breach occurs.' Key market trends for 2026 include:

• Realization of Zero Trust: Beyond concepts, practical implementation at the network, user, and asset levels is required, especially to block lateral movement within internal networks (driven by N2SF).
• AI vs. AI: Automated AI attacks will require AI-based defense systems for real-time detection and response.
• Integrated Hybrid Security: Consistent security policies must be applied across On-Premise, Cloud, and SaaS environments."

 

Q. Which markets will PIOLINK focus on this year?

"We will focus on Public/Finance, Enterprise, and Education.

• Public/Finance: High demand for Zero Trust and internal network security due to the full-scale implementation of the National Network Security Framework (N2SF).
• Enterprise: increasing demand for integrated security solutions in hybrid IT environments.
• Education: High demand for replacing foreign solutions with domestic ones and strengthening security for AI/Digital education networks."

 

Q. Please introduce your key products for this year.

"We are focusing on four core product lines:

1. TiFRONT ZT (Zero Trust Security Switch): It uses the switch as a security starting point to micro-segment the network and control access without agents. It is essential for blocking lateral movement (ransomware spread) and meeting N2SF guidelines.
2. Popcorn HCI (Hyper-Converged Infrastructure): A virtualization solution integrating server, storage, and network. It is gaining popularity as a cost-effective alternative to VMware (which shifted to a subscription model), offering perpetual licenses while retaining core functions.
3. PAS-K (ADC): The No. 1 ADC in Korea. It provides load balancing and acceleration. Demand is rising for its GSLB (Global Server Load Balancing) feature, which is essential for Disaster Recovery (DR) and active-active data center configurations.
4. WEBFRONT-K (Web Firewall): A web application and API protection solution. It defends against OWASP vulnerabilities and bots. It is also popular as a SECaaS (Security as a Service) subscription model for SMEs lacking dedicated security staff."

 

Q. How are you responding to AI-driven attacks?

"We are sharing Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) to rapidly update our products against the latest attacks. We are also integrating AI technology into our products for intelligent, automated operations and collaborating with global AI solution firms to create new business value."

 

Q. What is your global expansion strategy?

"We are seeing strong growth in Japan, where we have secured over 40,000 customers for our cloud-managed services.

• Expansion: We plan to expand the Japanese market with 'TiFRONT ZT' to meet the Japanese government's Zero Trust adoption needs.
• PioPlatform: We established a new entity called 'PioPlatform' in October 2024. Leveraging our 20 years of distribution networks in Japan, this platform will support other Korean security companies in entering the Japanese market.
• Southeast Asia: We continue to see double-digit growth in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore."
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Q. Any final suggestions for Korea to become a cybersecurity powerhouse?

"We need a paradigm shift to view security as an investment, not a cost. Public procurement structures must move away from the 'lowest price' system to prioritize quality and stability. Policy support and tax benefits are also crucial to help SMEs build realistic security systems."

 

Q. Finally, how would you define PIOLINK?

"PIOLINK is a Cyber Resilience technology company that helps clients' businesses continue without interruption despite sophisticated attacks and unexpected failures. Our core value is providing the 'Power of Recovery'—enabling infrastructure to withstand attacks and restore itself. With over 25 years of trust and proven technology, PIOLINK will continue to realize the future value of 'Unstoppable IT.'"