The Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) noted on the 8th that they will begin pilot operations of the "X-ray preemptive blocking service" on the 9th starting at 9 a.m., which can block malicious text messages from the stage of sending, such as smishing.
The name "X-ray" was given because it means closely examining whether malicious messages contain smishing誘導 links.
The Ministry of Science and ICT reported that the X-ray preemptive blocking service will be primarily adopted by the text message vendor SME.
When a text resale company or intermediary that adopted the pilot service identifies a malicious message, they will request a smishing examination from KISA before delivering it to users.
Until now, users who received spam messages reported them to KISA through the Kakao Talk Protection Channel and other means, and KISA determined whether the messages were malicious, blocking the sender's number and internet address (URL).
The Ministry of Science and ICT stated regarding the existing method that "there were inconveniences as recipients had to report and respond individually to the mass distribution of malicious messages, and there were also cases of unintentionally falling victim to smishing, so a more effective response was necessary."
The Ministry of Science and ICT added that it will later expand the X-ray service for blocking malicious text messages.