Seoul: A former White House cybersecurity official on Tuesday stressed the need for enhanced intelligence sharing and corporate coordination in South Korea in response to a recent hacking incident involving SK Telecom Co., the country's largest mobile carrier. Anne Neuberger, former U.S. deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, also suggested that Chinese actors may have been involved in the incident, noting a history of past Chinese penetrations targeting telecom companies around the world.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Neuberger addressed a cybersecurity seminar hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) in Seoul. She highlighted that China has been known to compromise telecoms globally, including in the United States, Europe, and Australia. SK Telecom, with 25 million subscribers out of a population of 50 million, detected the cyberattack on April 18 and discovered signs of a large-scale leak of customers' USIM data. The incident is considered the worst hacking case in the nation's telecommunications history.
Neuberger explained that such intrusions could serve various objectives, including espionage or pre-positioning for disruption during a national crisis. She noted that if China launches cyberattacks or embeds malware in systems, the purposes could range from espionage, such as tracking travelers, to enabling disruptions in critical infrastructure during crises or conflicts.
She emphasized three key lessons learned from her tenure at the U.S. National Security Agency and the White House-rapid intelligence sharing by governments, private-sector collaboration across competitors, and international partnerships. Neuberger urged organizations like SK Group to foster collaboration among technology leaders to exchange information on threats and effective defenses, while governments should facilitate rapid intelligence sharing with companies.
Neuberger encouraged South Korea to remain active in cyber cooperation initiatives, including its trilateral collaboration with the U.S. and Japan and the International Counter Ransomware Initiative, a 71-country platform for cyber cooperation. She further warned of the broader escalation of cyberthreats from not only states like China, Russia, and Iran but also from criminal groups targeting critical infrastructure to extort money.
Neuberger cited the United States' experience with a significant rise in disruptive attacks against hospitals by criminals seeking financial gain, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced cyber defenses and cooperative strategies.