南韓三大進攻型網絡安全公司爭奪市場主導地位

Competition is intensifying among South Korean offensive security companies Theori, Enki WhiteHat and Stealien. (AI-generated infographic)

Who will emerge as South Korea’s leading offensive security company?

The country’s three major offensive security firms — Theori, Enki WhiteHat and Stealien — are competing head-to-head as surging demand for simulated cyberattacks amid an AI-driven hacking crisis sends their valuations soaring.

The three companies have stepped up their efforts through initial public offering (IPO) plans and partnerships with global technology companies. Attention is turning to which will emerge as the country’s dominant offensive security provider.

The companies have notably different founder backgrounds. Theori CEO Park Se-jun and Stealien CEO Park Chan-am are widely known as legendary white-hat hackers. Park Se-jun co-founded Theori in Austin, Texas, in January 2016 with Chief Technology Officer Andrew Wesie, a fellow Carnegie Mellon University alumnus. Park Chan-am founded Stealien while studying computer engineering at Inha University. He is sufficiently well known to have appeared on the television entertainment program You Quiz on the Block.

Enki WhiteHat CEO Lee Seong-kwon, by contrast, has a research background. He earned a master’s degree in information security from the University of London and worked as a researcher at the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). He also became the first person in Asia to obtain the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification in the 1990s.

Offensive security involves identifying potential intrusion and data theft pathways from an attacker’s perspective. Given the nature of the business, former white-hat hackers have an inherent advantage.

Yet Enki WhiteHat, led by a security specialist, has recently emerged as the most aggressive of the three. It is the first to pursue an IPO, having passed its preliminary listing review on Oct. 7. The company plans to begin public subscriptions in November, seeking to raise funds to capitalize on surging security demand amid the AI hacking crisis.

The three companies generate similar revenue. Theori led in 2025 with 15.995 billion won, followed by Enki WhiteHat with 14.2 billion won and Stealien with 12.1 billion won.

Enki WhiteHat, however, plans to raise 28 billion won through its IPO based on the upper end of its proposed offering price range, giving it greater financial resources for expansion than its rivals.

The company has also recently launched a collaboration program with Palo Alto Networks, the world’s largest cybersecurity company. It is targeting South Korea’s financial sector, where demand for security services has surged following recent hacking incidents. Enki WhiteHat has set a 2029 revenue target of 77.9 billion won, more than six times its 2025 figure.

Theori and Stealien are mounting their own responses.

Theori has set its sights on a Nasdaq listing. Rather than focusing on domestic rivals, it identifies US-based XBOW, a leading AI offensive security company, as its competitor. The strategy reflects its ambition to compete primarily in the global market. Theori also recently qualified to participate in OpenAI’s Daybreak Cyber Partner Program.

Stealien is taking a different path, choosing not to pursue an IPO. Its strategy emphasizes independent growth, reflecting confidence in its ability to expand through internally generated revenue without external investment.

The company established a branch in Indonesia in March 2019 and another in Japan in July 2024. Both operations are profitable.

According to global market research firm Fortune Business Insights, the worldwide penetration testing market is valued at $3.09 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach $7.41 billion by 2034.

With each of the three companies currently generating annual revenue of around 10 billion won, the potential for further growth is substantial.

“AI will determine the winners and losers in the offensive security market,” Gartner analyst Tom Powledge said in a recent report.

Competition among offensive security companies is shifting from recruiting elite white-hat hackers toward commercializing AI-powered hacking technologies.

Theori is promoting Xint as its flagship AI security product, while Enki WhiteHat offers Offen AI DAST and Stealien has AlienRay.

Ultimately, the market shares captured by these products are expected to determine which company emerges as South Korea’s leading offensive security provider.