SEOUL– An interagency task force led by National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han held its first meeting Tuesday to discuss cybersecurity issues following last week’s massive disruption to top mobile messenger KakaoTalk’s service, the presidential office said.
The task force was launched in response to the server outage caused by a fire at a data center used by Kakao Corp., the operator of KakaoTalk, which suspended the messaging app and other services tied to it Saturday.
The panel is made up of officials from the science and defense ministries, the National Intelligence Service, the prosecution, the police, the Defense Security Support Command and the Cyber Operations Command.
“National Security Adviser Kim pointed out that if a business’ natural responsibilities are abandoned, it can spread to become a danger to national security,” deputy presidential spokesperson Lee Jae-myoung said.
“He stressed the need for thorough readiness as a serious setback in information, and communications networks like this time can pose an enormous threat to national security,” he added.
The task force discussed emergency response plans for use in the event of a similar crisis in communications networks whether caused by a fire or a hacking attack, and also talked about ways to train in restoring systems and revising the law to prevent a recurrence.
The officials agreed to meet regularly once or twice a month to come up with detailed plans.
Source: Yonhap News Agency