As the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem expands rapidly, security technologies that protect data are emerging as a core competitive edge for companies. In line with this trend, technology firm Cryptolab, which holds original technology for “homomorphic encryption” that computes directly on encrypted data, has been signing a series of actual contracts in key industries such as finance, defense, and healthcare.

Jeonghee Cheon, CEO of Cryptolab (professor at Seoul National University’s Department of Mathematical Sciences, pictured), said at a press briefing held on the exhibition floor of Mobile World Congress 2026 (MWC26) in Barcelona, Spain, on the 5th (local time), “While attention has been focused only on the rapid growth of AI, data is still leaking somewhere even now,” adding, “Encrypting the memory layer, which corresponds to the ‘memory’ of large language models (LLMs), is urgent, and if this is left unattended, a large-scale hacking incident will occur next year.”

In response, Cryptolab has implemented original technology that stores and searches vector data such as voice and text processed by AI in encrypted form without decryption (the process of restoring encrypted data to a readable original form). It does so by using homomorphic encryption technology, which allows searching and computing on data while it remains encrypted. Even if a hacker infiltrates the system and steals the data, only meaningless random numbers are obtained, fundamentally blocking information leaks.

In the past, slow computation speed was a critical limitation of homomorphic encryption. Cryptolab broke through this bottleneck by developing 4.5th-generation technology that reduces the processing time for 1 bit from the existing 30 minutes to around 10 milliseconds (1/1000 of a second, ms).

This has also led to cooperation with the three major telecom operators. With LG Uplus, the company is conducting a proof-of-concept project to apply this technology to the AI call agent “ixi-O” and the AI contact center (AICC). The aim is to ensure privacy by encrypting call transcripts and consultation records in real time in an on-device AI environment. The company is also expanding technological exchanges with SK Telecom, which is leading the quantum security alliance “Xquantum,” and KT, which is advancing its own quantum encryption ecosystem.

Cryptolab is now setting its sights on the global market. CEO Cheon said, “We are receiving continuous inquiries about adopting our technology from various countries, including Southeast Asia and the Middle East,” and emphasized, “If we work with the government to secure a lead in setting global standards at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), we will gain strong competitiveness in the global market.”

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