Korea’s cyber security adviser calls for digital solidarity with allies

Lim Jong-in

South Korea faces a spike in hacking attempts in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, underscoring the need for solidarity among allied nations, according to Lim Jong-in, a special advisor on cybersecurity to the Korean President.

“In the digital world, South Korea is surrounded by North Korea, China, and Russia,” Lim said, in a recent interview. “We need solidarity among allied nations.

As hacking incidents escalate, Lim, an honorary professor at Korea University’s Graduate School of Cybersecurity, underscored the necessity for a coordinated response among allied countries.

He particularly highlighted the importance of enhancing not only cybersecurity capabilities but also cyber resilience — the ability to swiftly recover from cyberattacks.

“Allied nations must cultivate cyber resilience together,” Lim emphasized.

Cyber resilience has become a prominent issue following the recent hacking incident involving Indonesia’s National Data Center.

On June 20, the hacker group Brain Cipher, known for targeting the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Thailand, and Taiwan, launched a concentrated attack on Indonesia’s National Data Center.

This attack resulted in 39 Indonesian institutions’ data being locked and subjected to ransomware demands.

The hackers justified their actions as an effort to prompt the Indonesian government to invest more in the security industry and hire specialized personnel, while demanding $8 million to lift the ransomware.

The incident had severe repercussions, disrupting airport automated immigration systems and a fee reduction program for low-income university students.

Despite the gravity of the situation, the Indonesian government refused to negotiate with the cyber terrorists, leading to prolonged paralysis of public networks for several days.

The origin of Brain Cipher remains undisclosed, but security experts speculate that increasing tensions between China and Indonesia over the South China Sea might be a contributing factor, suggesting a potential link to pro-China hacker groups.

Reiterating the significance of cyber resilience, Lim recalled the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict when Russian hackers targeted Ukraine’s data centers.

“At that time, the Ukrainian government sought support from Microsoft to resolve administrative network disruptions,” he said. Lim expressed concern about South Korea’s preparedness in facing similar threats from formidable hacker groups in North Korea, China, and Russia.

“We need to ponder whether South Korea can survive in the digital world in case of an emergency,” he cautioned.

As a solution, Lim proposed stronger digital solidarity among allied nations.

“The cyber world has become a real battleground,” he said. “South Korea must seriously contemplate how to recover rapidly from hacking incidents.”