[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] Major South Korean IT companies, including Kakao, are tightening security controls by restricting employees’ use of the AI agent tool OpenClaw, citing concerns over potential data leaks and unauthorized system access.
According to industry sources on Friday, Kakao recently notified employees that OpenClaw use would be restricted on internal networks and work devices to protect corporate information assets. Naver and Karrot have also blocked access to OpenClaw and another AI tool, Maltbot, within their corporate environments.
This marks the first time in about a year that major Korean companies have formally banned specific AI tools, following earlier restrictions imposed on China’s AI model DeepSeek in early 2025.
OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent based on large language models (LLMs) that can directly control a user’s PC to automate repetitive tasks and gather information across multiple websites. While popular among developers for productivity gains, experts warn that integration with internal corporate systems could expose sensitive business data or personal information. Some security analyses have flagged cases where API keys were stored without encryption during OpenClaw-based implementations.
Similar concerns have been raised overseas. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has warned that improperly configured OpenClaw systems could serve as data leakage channels, calling for stronger authentication and access controls. Microsoft has also publicly expressed caution regarding the tool’s use in enterprise environments.
Industry observers say the moves reflect a growing trend among companies to preemptively limit high-risk AI tools as organizations reassess internal controls amid the rapid adoption of autonomous AI agents.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
