[AI Era Warning] ⑤ "Security Threats Becoming Sophisticated and Complex... Must Protect with AI"

Interview with Jeon Deokjo, CEO of CQVista
"RaaS and Cloud Hacking Stand Out"
"Need to Foster AI-Security Convergence Talent"

Jeon Deok-jo, CEO of CQVista

"With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the cybersecurity market needs to be prepared to respond to new threats. Under the paradigm of 'using AI to stop AI,' defense systems must be strengthened."

Jeon Deok-jo, CEO of Cyqubista (photo), said in an interview with Asia Economy on the 24th, "AI-based cyberattacks are being carried out in sophisticated and automated ways." Jeon, who has been involved in the cybersecurity field for over 30 years, founded Cyqubista in 2005. In May of this year, the company's network threat detection and response (NDR) solution, 'Packet Cyber,' obtained a national security function verification certificate and is being supplied to some government ministries.

Jeon recently noted a significant increase in 'RaaS (Ransomware as a Service),' a service that allows even ordinary people without special technical knowledge to distribute ransomware. RaaS refers to hackers creating and selling or leasing ransomware tools and technologies. It is a kind of 'service' where ordinary users only need to set the target and scale of the attack, and the ransomware is distributed for them. Jeon said, "RaaS is a major factor in popularizing ransomware attacks and increasing their impact," adding, "It is evolving into a form that not only encrypts data and demands ransom from companies and institutions but also combines threats of data leakage."

Cloud services, where companies and institutions store data and handle operations, are also targets of hackers. He explained, "Cloud hacking exploits shared resources and complex structures to steal data or disrupt authentication systems to take over accounts," and added, "A single security breach can have widespread effects, making the scale of damage potentially much larger than traditional systems."

AI-based attacks are indeed difficult to detect and respond to with traditional security systems. Jeon emphasized, "Security companies must build AI-based detection and response systems to detect threats in real time and enable automated defense." He also suggested the importance of fostering an ecosystem that cultivates talent who understand AI and security integratively, establishing public-private cooperation systems, and setting legal regulations and ethical standards against AI misuse.

Jeon pointed out that the domestic cybersecurity sector has repeatedly exhibited a 'closing the barn door after the horse is lost' behavior. In 2021, defense contractor Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering suffered hacking damage presumed to be the work of a North Korean hacker group, raising concerns about the leakage of core technologies related to the latest submarines. In the same year, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) was also hacked, reportedly leaking strategic business information such as the Korean launch vehicle Nuriho.

Jeon stressed that to respond to sophisticated threats from state-backed hacking groups, it is necessary to shift from the existing log-based security monitoring framework to a detection and response-centered approach. He advised that it is essential to systematically and professionally train security experts, strengthen international cooperation, and share threat information to adopt a global-level response posture.