14 DAY TRIAL // A report that came out this week revealed that Internet Explorer remains the dominant browser in South Korea due to local laws that force shopping services to stick to a digital certificate supported by Microsoft’s own app exclusively.
It turns out that local authorities are actually aware of this situation and are planning to change the legislation in order to make online shopping available via other browsers too.
“We are behind the times, clinging to the old method,” said Rep. Lee Jong-gul of the main opposition Democratic Party, according to a report by Business Korea.
The existing Electronic Financial Transaction Act was introduced in 1999 and requires online shopping services and Internet banking to implement a digital certificate based on an ActiveX control that can be only used with Internet Explorer.
Microsoft itself warned that ActiveX controls could easily become dangerous in case hackers managed to develop their own versions and install them on users’ computers.
“Some websites require you to install ActiveX controls to view or perform certain tasks on them, but there can be potential risks. Cybercriminals may develop their own ActiveX controls and can damage computers if users visit web pages that contain malicious ActiveX software,” the company said.