Yoon vows to further nurture cyber personnel, industry

General

President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed Thursday to further nurture the country’s cyber personnel and industry as he underscored their importance to national security, his office said.

Yoon made the promise while meeting with a group of young white hat hackers — individuals who identify security vulnerabilities in computer systems and help prevent malicious hacking — and praised them for their recent achievements at the DEF CON hacker convention and other competitions at home and abroad.

“Cybersecurity is directly linked to national security,” Yoon said during the meeting held over lunch at the former presidential compound of Cheong Wa Dae.

“Each one of you is an important strategic asset in cybersecurity,” he said, pledging to work harder to nurture cyber personnel and strengthen the capabilities of the cyber industry.

Yoon also attended a demonstration of the emergency measures white hat hackers would take in the event of a cyberattack on a smart city’s key infrastructure, such as traffic lights and power grids, his office said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency