AhnLab's 30-year history
is the footprint of South Korean cybersecurity itself.
From pioneering Korea’s cybersecurity
to earning trust worldwide,
AhnLab has never stopped innovating since 1995.
Every moment of our 30-year journey
reflects an unwavering commitment
to our core mission: More Security, More Freedom.
A late night in June 1988,
in a medical student's small room,
the monitor light never dimmed all night.
What he encountered
was not a virus infecting humans,
but one infecting computers.
After many nights of relentless development,
one of the world’s first antivirus solutions,
‘Vaccine’, was born.
For the security of all, he shared it freely with everyone—and from that promise, AhnLab’s journey began.
On March 15, 1995,
after a seven-year journey of
researching medicine by day
and coding antivirus software by night,
AhnLab was founded with just two employees to combat the growing wave of computer viruses.
McAfee, a leading U.S. security company, offered $10 million to acquire AhnLab.
But to protect Korea's cybersecurity sovereignty and the future of AhnLab employees, the offer was firmly declined.
The devastating CIH virus
swept across the world,
causing billions of won in damages
in Korea alone.
For the first time,
a tech news made headlines
on the 9 o’clock news—
shocking the public
and serving as a wake-up call
to the importance of cybersecurity.
In late 1999,
as the world approached
the new millennium,
fears of the Y2K computer crisis
spread globally.
While many sought profit from the chaos,
AhnLab chose to deliver the truth—
that Y2K was manageable,
and there was no need for panic.
In 2001, AhnLab became the first Korean cybersecurity company to be listed on KOSDAQ.
This milestone marked a success story for startup companies and laid the foundation to accelerate innovation and R&D.
In 2002, AhnLab took its first step into global markets by establishing AhnLab Japan.
With proprietary technology and locally customized security solutions, AhnLab built trust in the Japanese market, beginning its journey as a global enterprise.
In 2003, AhnLab established AhnLab China in the capital of China, Beijing.
Starting with Korean companies operating in China and expanding to local manufacturers, AhnLab continues to strengthen its position in the world's largest manufacturing market.
In the early 2000s, as mobile phones became mainstream, new security threats emerged.
Recognizing mobile security's importance before smartphones existed, AhnLab pioneered the world's first mobile antivirus, V3 Mobile for WI-TOP.
In 2005, as network security became increasingly critical, AhnLab expanded beyond the endpoint domain to introduce a network firewall, TrusGuard.
With robust intrusion prevention capabilities, TrusGuard safeguarded corporate networks and marked the beginning of a new era in integrated security.
In an increasingly complex threat landscape, AhnLab expanded into the services domain.
With 24/7 security monitoring and specialized consulting, AhnLab delivered tailored security strategies, solidifying its position as a trusted security partner.
On July 7, 2009,
an unprecedented DDoS attack paralyzed South Korea’s key government institutions, including the Blue House (presidential office), National Assembly, Ministry of Defense.
During the national crisis,
AhnLab worked through the night,
launching emergency response measures and rapidly distributing a dedicated antivirus solution, playing a vital role in mitigating the national cyber crisis.
In 2010, in response to surging DDoS attacks, AhnLab released TrusGuard DPX.
With patented cloud-based defense technology, it allowed legitimate traffic while effectively blocking attacks, setting new standards for DDoS protection.
In 2012, Ahn Cheol-Soo Research Institute rebranded as AhnLab, adopting a simpler and more intuitive name to reflect its evolution into a global cybersecurity company.
The new brand logo features blue, symbolizing trust and stability—core values that define AhnLab.
In 2012, AhnLab became the first South Korean software company to surpass 100 billion won in annual revenue, solidifying its position as an industry leader.
This remarkable achievement, driven by relentless innovation and customer trust, marked a historic milestone in the Korean cybersecurity industry.
In 2017, AhnLab’s TrusGuard IPX was listed in Gartner’s Magic QuadrantTM for Intrusion Prevention Systems.
Recognized for its integrated network and endpoint defense system, as well as Korea’s largest threat analysis and response team, AhnLab’s technology earned global recognition.
In 2017, AhnLab EPP became the first Korean solution to be listed in the Gartner Magic QuadrantTM for Endpoint Protection Platforms. With powerful malware detection and sophisticated multi-dimensional analysis, AhnLab’s technology earned recognition as world-class security.
Shortly after the PyeongChang Olympics opening ceremony, a large-scale cyberattack paralyzed the Olympic operating systems.
Through rapid response and system recovery, AhnLab played a key role in ensuring the successful operation of the Olympics.
In 2018, AhnLab introduced AhnLab TMS, its integrated network threat management platform.
By managing multiple security solutions from a single platform and leveraging ML-based intelligent analysis, AhnLab TMS set a new standard for enterprise network security.
In response to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, AhnLab launched AhnLab EDR, an endpoint threat detection and response solution.
Built on AhnLab’s extensive expertise in endpoint security, AhnLab EDR leverages threat analysis technologies refined through V3 and its proprietary behavioral analysis engine to proactively detect and mitigate potential threats.
From 2014 to 2018, AhnLab was recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Enterprise Network Firewalls for five consecutive years with TrusGuard.
This acknowledgment highlights AhnLab's strong network security performance and advanced threat detection capabilities, reinforcing its world-class cybersecurity technology.
To counter escalating network threats, AhnLab launched AhnLab AIPS, a next-generation network intrusion prevention solution.
With advanced detection engines and high-performance packet processing technology, AhnLab AIPS delivers exceptional threat detection even in high-traffic environments.
In 2019, AhnLab introduced Korea’s first security solution incorporating the SOAR concept with AhnLab SOAR (formerly Sefinity AIR).
By leveraging playbooks built on AhnLab’s extensive threat response expertise and automation technology, AhnLab SOAR enhances security response capabilities while significantly improving operational efficiency.
In 2020, AhnLab acquired AI security specialist Jason to strengthen its AI capabilities.
By integrating Jason’s AI-powered anomaly detection technology into AhnLab’s security solutions, AhnLab significantly enhanced its threat response capabilities while accelerating innovation in AI security.
AhnLab released an upgraded version of AhnLab EPS, an OT endpoint protection solution, further expanding its CPS portfolio.
Designed specifically for OT environments with a lightweight agent, AhnLab EPS ensures system availability while enhancing OT security and management efficiency.
As enterprise cloud migration accelerates, AhnLab has launched AhnLab CPP, an integrated cloud workload security platform.
AhnLab CPP provides comprehensive visibility into cloud server security threats and blocks unnecessary applications, ensuring stable operations.
To reduce security operational burdens for small and medium businesses, AhnLab developed AhnLab Office Security, a SaaS-based security management solution.
Without requiring dedicated server infrastructure, the web-based "Office Security Center" enables unified security operations from any desktop or mobile device, making enterprise-grade security accessible without a dedicated security team.
In 2021, AhnLab achieved the milestone of 200 billion won in revenue.
This accomplishment reflects balanced growth across diverse security domains—from endpoint to network to services—and is a meaningful achievement realized together with customers.
To combat rapidly increasing cyber threats, AhnLab introduced AhnLab TIP, a next-generation threat intelligence platform.
By providing sophisticated threat intelligence and customized insights, AhnLab TIP helps develop proactive security strategies and make optimal decisions in complex threat environments.
In 2021, AhnLab strengthened its OT security capabilities by acquiring OT security solution provider 'NAONWORKS.’
By combining NAONWORKS' OT security expertise with AhnLab’s unified security capabilities, AhnLab enhanced OT threat response capabilities while expanding its CPS portfolio.
As demand for digital asset security increased, AhnLab entered the blockchain market by establishing a subsidiary, 'AhnLab Blockchain Company.’
Leveraging AhnLab's security expertise, the subsidiary is developing Web 3.0 wallet services for secure cryptocurrency and NFT management, expanding into new business opportunities.
As threats targeting manufacturing increased, AhnLab enhanced its OT security capabilities with AhnLab XTD, an OT visibility and threat detection solution.
Providing comprehensive visibility from network to endpoint and applying deep packet inspection technology, AhnLab XTD significantly strengthens the security posture of OT environments.
As cyber threats grow exponentially, security personnel resources remain limited. To overcome these challenges, AhnLab launched AhnLab XDR, Korea's first extended detection and response platform.
By integrating data from various solutions, AhnLab XDR performs sophisticated correlation analysis and threat prioritization, maximizing operational efficiency and establishing a more powerful unified security framework.
In 2024, as cloud transformation accelerated, AhnLab acquired CloudMate, a cloud-native specialist, and integrated AhnLab's cloud security capabilities to launch 'AhnLab CloudMate.'
Through the powerful synergy of cybersecurity expertise and cloud-native technologies, AhnLab delivers a secure cloud environment to customers while strengthening its competitive edge in the cloud security era.
AhnLab joined forces with Saudi Arabian company 'SITE' to launch the joint venture 'Rakeen.’
Located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Rakeen combines AhnLab's proven cybersecurity expertise with SITE's deep regional expertise and localization capabilities, establishing a formidable presence in the MENA region.
Starting from Saudi Arabia, Rakeen plans to extend its reach throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
To address increasingly complex network security requirements, AhnLab has launched AhnLab XTG, a next-generation network firewall.
Evolved from the existing AhnLab TrusGuard, the new AhnLab XTG inherits the key security capabilities of its predecessor while supporting enhanced performance and the latest network security use cases such as ZTNA and SD-WAN.