MS and Google Meet Biden, Pledge 35 Trillion Won Investment to Strengthen Cybersecurity (Comprehensive)

Response to Successive Ransomware Attacks
CEOs of Apple, MS, Google Attend
MS Announces 23 Trillion Won Investment Over 5 Years
IBM to Train 150,000 Security Experts

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] CEOs of major U.S. big tech companies announced during a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden that they will invest at least 35 trillion won in strengthening cybersecurity.

On the 25th (local time), after President Biden called big tech, financial institutions, and key industry companies to the White House to urge the enhancement of cybersecurity, these companies responded by pledging to invest at least $30 billion (approximately 35 trillion won) in the cybersecurity sector over the next five years.

The meeting was attended by Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft (MS) CEO Satya Nadella, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna.

From the left, Tim Cook, Apple Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Arvind Krishna, IBM CEO
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Microsoft announced it will invest $20 billion (approximately 23 trillion won) over five years to strengthen cybersecurity. Foreign media reported this is four times the current scale. After the meeting, Nadella revealed on Twitter that Microsoft will also invest $150 million (approximately 175 billion won) to improve cybersecurity systems in government agencies.

Google also stated at the meeting that it will invest $10 billion (approximately 11.65 trillion won) over the next five years and train about 100,000 experts in IT security and data analysis through its own career development programs.

IBM announced plans to train more than 150,000 cybersecurity experts within three years and previewed the development of new data storage technologies to strengthen cybersecurity for critical infrastructure facilities.

Apple said it will implement policies to enhance security across its entire supply chain and support partner companies in adopting multi-factor authentication security systems.

Amazon emphasized that it will provide multi-factor authentication security systems free of charge to customers using its cloud computing services.

The meeting took place amid a series of cyberattack damages, including the ransomware attack on the largest U.S. pipeline company, Colonial Pipeline, and last year's SolarWinds hacking incident.

On the government side, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and White House National Cyber Director Chris Inglis were present.

President Biden stressed cooperation during the meeting, saying, "The reality is that the private sector owns and operates most of our critical infrastructure, and the federal government cannot face this challenge alone." He added, "I believe you have the authority, capability, and responsibility to raise the standards of cybersecurity," and concluded, "There is much work to be done."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

President Biden also emphasized the need for cooperation between the government and the private sector to train security experts, noting that the U.S. cybersecurity industry currently faces a shortage of about 500,000 personnel.

As ransomware attacks and hacking incidents have continued targeting federal government agencies and companies responsible for key industries, President Biden has recently shifted the priority of foreign policy toward responding to cyberattacks.

Recently, he signed an executive order mandating the implementation of two-factor authentication systems for account logins for all U.S. government agency employees. Additionally, in June, during his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he handed over a list of 16 infrastructure sectors and warned not to interfere with them.

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