ChatGPT's New Security Threat Response... Ministry of Science and ICT Holds Forum

3rd Digital National Agenda Consecutive On-site Meetings

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Su-yeon] The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on the 9th that Jiranjigyo Security, a cybersecurity specialist company, held the 'Cybersecurity Crisis Field Discussion with the People' as part of the 3rd Digital National Agenda consecutive field meeting in 2023.

This meeting was attended by cybersecurity experts from domestic companies such as Jiranjigyo, Ginieons, Onae People, as well as the Korea Internet & Security Agency, Korea Information Security Industry Association, and other industry-academia-research-government experts, along with the general public, students, and active military personnel. Based on the analysis and experience of previous consecutive field meetings on the Digital National Agenda, from this year, a town hall and 100-minute discussion format were introduced to develop policy measures that can enhance effectiveness on-site. The scope of participants was broadened to include the general public and students, and focused thematic discussions centered on public interests rather than government policy-centered debates were conducted.

The first topic addressed the public's anxiety and economic damage caused by ongoing cyber incidents such as the recent LG Uplus customer information leak. The discussion involved hearing the concerns of general attendees about hacking damage and their hopes for government policy promotion, followed by related discussions with experts. Cybersecurity experts pointed out the limitations of the existing perimeter security system due to companies' cloud migration and the spread of remote and telecommuting work. They emphasized the need for proactive response systems such as zero trust and supply chain security. In particular, they called for the government and companies to respond quickly to enable the public to recognize new security threats caused by ChatGPT and to prevent damage in advance.

The second topic explored ways for domestic cybersecurity specialist companies to grow as innovative enterprises despite limitations in market size, professional manpower, and investment scale. Opinions from Jo Ah-young, CEO of Onae People and winner of last year's Startup Award, were heard, and the importance of activating the rapid confirmation system for information security products, maintaining continuous trust relationships with overseas countries, and building human networks was shared. Practical overseas expansion cooperation plans such as ASEAN Cyber Shields were also discussed.

The third topic involved an active-duty soldier currently working in the cybersecurity field sharing their cybersecurity education course completion and field experience. To nurture talent with practical skills that can be used timely on-site, discussions were held on talent development plans needed by cybersecurity companies and demand companies. The Ministry of Science and ICT stated that it will support education for nurturing talent that can be immediately utilized in the industrial field. To this end, it expressed its intention to strengthen communication with the industry for effective talent development along with opening new courses such as the company-led talent development program ‘Security Academy,’ the White Hacker School that provides a talent ladder to promising individuals, and the ‘S-Developer’ course supporting the cultivation of top-level developers.

The fourth topic shared ways to shift companies' awareness of cybersecurity and expand investment in cybersecurity from the perspective of companies. In addition to activating existing systems such as the Ministry of Science and ICT’s information security disclosure system operation and expansion, and designation and operation of Chief Information Security Officers (CISO), in-depth discussions were held on field voices including mandatory vulnerability inspection for companies with security incidents and the need to expand multi-factor authentication for major digital services.

Park Yoon-gyu, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “The high cybersecurity capabilities of the private sector will become a strong pillar for the daily lives of the people and the national economy, leading to the cybersecurity competitiveness of the entire country.” He added, “We will strive to enable industry, academia, research, and government to work together so that government cybersecurity policies naturally permeate the daily lives of the people and industrial sites and can have practical effects.”