"Significant Strengthening of Information Security for National Core Technologies such as Nuclear Power, Space, and Aviation"

Ministry of Science and ICT Prepares Improvement Measures Including Expansion of Dedicated Organizations and Personnel by Institution

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Amid frequent cyber intrusion (hacking) attempts targeting government and public institutions conducting research and development in national core technologies such as nuclear power, space, and aviation, the government has established measures including the creation of dedicated teams within each institution.

.

The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 1st that it has prepared improvement plans such as reinforcing dedicated teams and personnel to protect information security for 25 government-funded research institutes and affiliated organizations. In this regard, it was revealed belatedly that in the first half of this year, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) were exposed to prolonged unprotected attacks by hackers presumed to be from North Korea, causing a stir.

First, by next year, affiliated institutions will establish dedicated information security teams to perform information protection tasks professionally and systematically. Eight large and urgent institutions, including the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI), will create new dedicated information security teams by next year, while 41 institutions such as Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology will do so by 2023. The minimum number of dedicated personnel will also increase from the current 1?4 to 2?7. Certification and training completion for responsible staff will be mandatory.

The information security project budget will be separated from the informatization project budget, and at least 15% of the informatization project budget will be allocated to information security. Efforts will also be made to expand various information security systems such as internal and external network separation (prioritizing physical separation), converting public IPs to private IPs, wireless intrusion prevention systems, and encryption solutions.

This year, cyber intrusion simulation training will be conducted for the first time targeting 25 affiliated institutions. To check the crisis response system, a joint exercise (tabletop drill) involving the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Cyber Safety Center, and affiliated institutions will be conducted. The scoring for information security items in institutional operation evaluations will also be increased from 1.05 points to 1.5 points. Senior executives will be appointed as information security officers.

Support systems for information security audits will be introduced, external experts related to information security will be deployed, and inspections of information security equipment and DMZ zones at external access points connected to the internet due to difficulties in separating internal and external networks will be strengthened.

Lee Tae-hee, Director of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, "As competition for technological supremacy between countries intensifies, hacking aimed at seizing national core technologies in fields such as nuclear power, aviation, and satellites is increasing," adding, "We will make greater efforts to safely protect national core technologies from cyber intrusions."

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