KISA-NIS Foster Cryptography Talent Through University Club Support

Full-Scale Launch of the '2020 University Cryptography Club Support Project'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jin-gyu Lee] The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) announced on the 27th that it will actively promote the '2020 University Cryptography Club Support Project' in collaboration with the Korea Cryptography Forum and the National Intelligence Service.

Now in its fifth year, the University Cryptography Club Support Project is operated to encourage interest in cryptography technology among domestic universities and to cultivate cryptography experts.

So far, the 17 university cryptography clubs supported through the project have shown excellent results, such as winning awards in national cryptography competitions and presenting cryptography technology papers at domestic and international conferences. Additionally, about 62% of the graduates from these clubs have grown into core information security personnel by either joining companies that handle cryptography-related technologies or advancing to specialized graduate schools in cryptography.

The nine university cryptography clubs selected for support this year include Sungshin Women's University 'ConSeQ', Hanyang University 'HUCC', Pusan National University 'KEEPER', Soonchunhyang University 'Hedgehog', Hansung University 'Quantum Ant', Youngsan University 'Focus', Kookmin University 'CaS', Seowon University 'SISL', and Korea University (Sejong) 'KoRec'.

KISA and the Korea Cryptography Forum will provide each selected club with 3 million KRW for research activities and offer opportunities to participate free of charge in forum-led cryptography education and workshops. At the end of the year, the annual activity results of the clubs will be evaluated, and one club each will be awarded certificates and encouragement prizes as Excellent and Best clubs. The Best club will also be granted eligibility to participate in the 2021 support project.

Lee Seok-rae, Head of the Information Security Industry Division at KISA, stated, "We will actively support university cryptography clubs to become training grounds for experts necessary for discovering and spreading next-generation cryptography technologies."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.