Four 5G Security Technologies Led by Korea Adopted as ITU Standards

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The National Radio Research Agency under the Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 23rd that four Korean proposed technologies were adopted as standards at the 'International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) Study Group 17 (SG17) on Information Security' meeting.

Korea submitted international standards in fields such as 5th generation (5G) mobile communication security, quantum cryptography communication security, and Internet of Things (IoT) security, which were pre-adopted.

Regarding 5G security, the security guidelines for the IMT-2020 communication system and the IMT-2020-based vertical service security requirements standard supporting ultra-reliable low-latency communication define key components related to security across the entire 5G communication system and in the converged service environment of 5G private networks, and present security threats and security functions accordingly. Through this, it is expected that security will be enhanced when building and operating 5G communication systems and 5G private networks.

Regarding IoT security, the security requirements standard for IoT devices and gateways analyzes potential security threats occurring in IoT devices and gateways and defines security requirements accordingly. This standard reflects domestic information protection certification criteria such as for information and communication network-connected devices into international standards, and is expected to help domestic IoT manufacturers and related industries advance into and secure a position in the global market.

Regarding quantum cryptography communication security, the technical report on the hybrid key agreement method using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) analyzes the areas requiring standardization based on ongoing standardization efforts by international standardization organizations for interoperability between QKD networks and existing cryptographic systems. It is considered to be a useful reference when the domestic cryptographic communication industry introduces and applies QKD networks.

At this meeting, three new standardization tasks were also approved, including security technology to protect storage from ransomware and other malicious codes proposed based on the technology of Korean SMEs (NamuSoft), and security technology to respond to targeted email attacks (GiwonTech), with related research expected to begin this year.

Additionally, at this meeting, Korea secured a foundation to lead international standards by reappointing Professor Yeom Heung-ryeol of Soonchunhyang University as the international chair within Study Group 17 (SG17), along with two working group chairs and fourteen study task chairs.