"Information Security More Important in the AI Era"... Information Security Day Ceremony

15th Information Security Day
AI-Driven Cyberattacks Becoming More Sophisticated
"We Will Actively Foster AI-Based Security Technologies and Industry Ecosystems"

On the morning of July 8, at the AI special pavilion of the Information Security Day ceremony held at the Shilla Hotel, SK Telecom demonstrated its security intelligence technology 'ScamVanguard,' which detects threats in the mobile environment using AI. SK Telecom's mobile threat detection AI, 'UndercoverBot,' accessed a KakaoTalk channel related to investment scams and sent a message: "I contacted you via Telegram and am reaching out now that you shared your address." Disguised as a male day laborer in his 40s, the AI conversed with a scammer and detected a scam link.

Shin Minil, manager of SK Telecom's Cybersecurity AI Development Team, explained, "This is an AI agent that automatically detects threats occurring in various forms, including on YouTube and blogs," adding, "We intend to share threat intelligence with A.Dot Call, Surpass, and spam filtering services to protect our customers and prevent social damage." In addition to SK Telecom, other companies such as KT, Logpresso, SANDS Lab, and INITECH also showcased information security technologies utilizing AI at the special pavilion.

At the 'Information Security Day Ceremony' held on the 8th, Nick Anderson, Acting Director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), emphasized national cooperation in preparing for changes in the AI environment. Photo by Eunseo Lee.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Intelligence Service, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety held the 15th Information Security Day ceremony at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the morning of July 8. Information Security Day is a statutory anniversary designated on the second Wednesday of July each year, in order to raise public awareness of cyber threats and promote information security practices among citizens. This began after the massive DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks on July 7, 2009.

This year's ceremony, marking its 15th anniversary, was held under the theme "Korea Leads the Safe AI Era." The event focused on presenting a vision for information security to support the realization of a safe AI-based society.

Before the opening, keynote speeches were delivered by the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the UK AI Safety Institute, Google, and others, discussing the future of AI-based information security.

Nick Anderson, Acting Director of the U.S. CISA, emphasized, "The opportunities and risks brought by advanced AI are global issues, and the responsibility to address them must be shared." He added, "International cooperation with partner countries like Korea is crucial." He continued, "As the United States implements the Advanced AI Executive Order, we see opportunities to expand cooperation with the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Intelligence Service, and various partners in Korea."

President Lee Jaemyung, through a congratulatory message read on his behalf, said, "As AI rapidly spreads throughout our society, the importance of information security is greater than ever," and pledged, "The government will expand inter-ministerial cooperation to respond to new threats, while actively fostering AI-based security technologies and industry ecosystems."

The ceremony included a commendation ceremony for contributors to information security, hopeful messages for a safe AI era from a citizen representative group, and an exhibition of outstanding AI-based information security products.

The citizen representative group, made up of four members from industry, academia, the security sector, and the general public, pledged to internalize security in industry (industry), foster innovative talent (academia), transform security systems (security sector), and practice security in daily life (citizens). For the first time, Korea's three major telecommunications companies participated in the event, demonstrating their commitment to information security.

Throughout July, the government will run "Information Security Month" and host related events. Public participation programs will also be conducted to promote the importance of information security and encourage everyday best practices among citizens.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.