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Korea Herald
14 hours ago
- Science
- Korea Herald
Korea steps up as science connector in Asia-Pacific
Science Ministry invites over 100 APAC researchers for mentoring, joint lab training ahead of APEC summit in October South Korea, once considered a scientific backwater, is now solidifying its position as a regional leader in fostering cooperation among science communities in the Asia-Pacific region. As part of its broader global initiative, the Ministry of Science and ICT is launching a program to invite scientists from across the region ahead of the upcoming APEC summit to be hosted by Korea in October. 'For scientists seeking new technological experiences, Korea is, in my opinion, the number one country in the APAC region — particularly in the semiconductor sector,' said Chaikarn Liewhiran, a physics and materials science professor at Thailand's Chiang Mai University, during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Thursday. 'Korea is a prime example of how the semiconductor industry can lead to commercial success. I believe we can achieve innovative scientific goals through collaboration between Thailand and Korea. That's precisely why I joined this program,' Liewhiran added. Mark Dennis Usang, a research officer at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency and fellow participant in the Science Ministry's 'APAC Scientist Invitation Program" held from May 26 to June 6, echoed Liewhiran's view. 'In terms of basic science, including fundamental physics, I think Japan is still slightly ahead. But when it comes to applications, Korea is excelling and has nearly closed the gap with Japan in the overall technology sector,' Usang said. Usang also praised Korea's scientific funding system, calling it more efficient than Malaysia's. He noted that Malaysian scientists must navigate a series of complicated procedures to receive government funding, often forcing them to build their own equipment, which both increases costs and delays research. Under the program, Liewhiran and Usang took part in mentoring activities aligned with their areas of expertise alongside Korean professors. Usang recalled a three-day collaboration with Ha Chang-hyon, a physics professor at Chung-Ang University, which led to a breakthrough in his future research using cost-effective, easy-to-make equipment. Before meeting Professor Ha, Usang said he hadn't realized how little effort it takes to assemble a plastic particle detector, which uses similar materials to PET bottles. With adjustments, such as crushing and melting the plastic, the material can be transformed into a functional detector capable of analyzing cosmic particles. 'Professor Ha explained how to make it and how it works. I've studied several detectors before, but I didn't know about this method. I was really surprised, enlightened and very happy,' Usang said. Liewhiran also noted that he had inspiring discussions with Yoon Young-gui, a physics professor at Chung-Ang University, and Yoon Jung-gi, a professor at Kyung Hee University. 'I learned so much from speaking with the professors, who are true experts in semiconductor technologies. We need to learn from Korea's strong competitiveness in this market,' said Liewhiran. 'They gave us valuable ideas to improve our research, which could ultimately drive our products or prototypes toward commercialization.' As part of the APEC Scientist Exchange Initiative, the Science Ministry plans to invite over 100 scientists from the region through two formats: a 10-day mentoring program and a 90-day training program involving joint research in Korean laboratories from June through July. Participants must hold a Ph.D. or a Master's degree with at least three years of work experience. The recently concluded 10-day mentoring program brought together 21 scientists from Malaysia, Thailand and Peru. For its upcoming initiative, the ministry plans to expand participation to include scientists from Indonesia and the Philippines specializing in chemistry, bioscience, geoscience and other fields. The goal is to reach more than 100 participants across both programs. To support visiting scientists, the Science Ministry has streamlined the visa and immigration process to facilitate easier entry into Korea. hyejin2@
Korea Herald
25-05-2025
- Science
- Korea Herald
Korea to bolster ties with Asia-Pacific scientists
Ministry of Science and ICT to conduct seminars to support APEC Scientist Exchange Initiative programs through July Korea is bringing in scientists from the Asia-Pacific region to bolster scientific networks as the country hosts the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and meetings throughout the year. The Ministry of Science and ICT announced on Sunday that it will invite some 100 scientists from APEC members through July to offer them opportunities to experience Korea's research environments and policies and carry out joint research with Korean scientists as a part of the country's efforts to support the APEC Scientist Exchange Initiative. The APEC Scientist Exchange Initiative is designed to strengthen R&D capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region by simplifying the immigration and visa application process to minimize inconveniences for scientists to cross borders for short-term exchange programs. According to the ministry, there will be two programs -- one, which is guided by Korean mentors over the span of 10 days or less to plan future research and the other that allows joint research activities at a domestic laboratory for 90 days or less. The first program, which will cover physics, is set to begin on Monday and last until June 6. A total of 21 researchers from Malaysia, Peru and Thailand will take part in various activities, including policy exchanges for scientific technology, lectures, mentoring and a tour of the Institute for Basic Science's Center for Quantum Nanoscience at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. 'We hope that the invitation will serve as a chance to bolster scientific technology capabilities through the exchange of APEC scientists,' said Hwang Sung-hoon, director general for the International Cooperation Bureau at the MSIT. 'We will continue to put efforts into establishing a cooperative system for research to advance the APEC region based on talented personnel.'
Korea Herald
21-05-2025
- Korea Herald
[Editorial] Hole in cybersecurity
SK Telecom breach dates back 3 years; Malware indicates China-based hacking The nation was jolted by interim probe findings that personal information and universal subscriber identity module or USIM data of practically all subscribers of SK Telecom may have been leaked by hackers. The cyberattack dated back about three years and turned out to be much more extensive than revealed in the initial briefing, according to the second briefing Monday by a joint investigation team of the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korea Internet & Security Agency. SK Telecom discovered the breach about a month ago, on April 18. Leaked USIM data amounted to 9.82 gigabytes. which equates to roughly 26.9 million units of international mobile subscriber identity or IMSI numbers. This means that the USIM data of practically all SK Telecom subscribers has been leaked. Currently, it has 25 million subscribers, including 2 million budget phone users. A total of 23 SK Telecom servers were found to be compromised by malware, up from the five disclosed in the previous briefing held on April 29. The number of malware variants found to have infected the servers increased from four to 25. Among the affected servers, two had been used as temporary storage for personal data, such as names, birthdates, phone numbers and email addresses, as well as data on international mobile equipment identity or IMEI, a serial number assigned to every mobile phone. The possibility of financial fraud and other forms of secondary damage from copy phones has gone up. Investigators found that hackers planted malware on June 15, 2022. It is shocking that not only the telecom carrier but also the government and private cybersecurity firms had remained in the dark about the malware's infiltration for about three years. There is another problem. How much damage the cyberattack will cause down the road is anyone's guess. SK Telecom reportedly keeps log data for the last four or five months. So, no log data is available for the period from June 15, 2022, when malware was first planted, to Dec. 2, 2024. Fortunately, no evidence was found showing any data leakage between Dec. 3, last year and April 24 of this year, but investigators could not confirm whether any leaks occurred during the period for which log data is not available. It is worth noting that 24 of the 25 malware variants detected this time were found to be BPFDoor, a backdoor reportedly used by China-based hackers to attack Middle Eastern and Asian telecom companies in recent years. Experts warn that this malware could be used for a cyberattack on the communication infrastructure of a country. Given that data on all SK Telecom subscribers may have been leaked for as long as three years, the breach is not likely to emerge as a simple hacking case. It is uncertain whether the incident was an organized cyberattack to cripple the communication system of a country rather than an attempt to steal money. Considering the cyber intrusion was not detected for so long, anybody can guess a similar thing may be happening at other communication networks or major institutions. Communication infrastructure is one of the cruxes of state administration. Cyberattacks could paralyze it secretly, plunging a nation into chaos. The SK Telecom breach reconfirms how vulnerable South Korea has become to such vital attacks. SK Telecom bears the primary responsibility for protecting its system from hacks, but the government needs to check the nation's cybersecurity this time. Also, the National Assembly should do its part to help telecom carriers fend off cyber infiltrations from abroad. One of the laws that it needs to revise is its espionage law, which only punishes spying activities done for North Korea. Recently, two Chinese nationals were caught photographing fighter jets near air bases in South Korea but released after telling police that photographing was their hobby. Police say there was no evidence that they did so for North Korea. China or the US would likely respond quite differently. For a nation to keep its sovereignty, security must be tight, cyber or not.
Korea Herald
19-05-2025
- Korea Herald
Nearly 27 million mobile fingerprints leaked in SK Telecom data breach: ministry
Malware attack began in June 2022, officials say A joint team of public and private investigators found that nearly 27 million units of international mobile subscriber identity, or IMSI, have been leaked from SK Telecom's data breach, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Monday. 'The investigators confirmed that the amount of leaked (universal subscriber identity module, or USIM) information was 9.82 (gigabytes), which equals to about 26.69 million units of the IMSI,' said Choi Woo-hyuk, director general of the Cyber Security & Network Policy Bureau at the Science Ministry, in a press briefing to announce the interim findings of the probe at the Government Complex Seoul. IMSI, which can be regarded as a mobile fingerprint, is a 15-digit or shorter number used to identify and authenticate each mobile subscriber on a cellular network. As for SK Telecom's 25 million subscribers being smaller than the number of leaked IMSIs, the officials explained that the number of IMSIs combines all universal subscriber identity modules, or USIMs, loaded onto not only smartphones but also smart watches and other connected devices using the Internet. The authorities announced that they found 25 types of malware and 23 hacked servers so far, up 21 and 18, respectively, from the previous discoveries released by the joint investigation on April 29. Having completed the investigation of 15 servers through detailed assessments, such as forensic and log analysis, the authorities plan to finish the investigation of the remaining eight servers by the end of May. According to the investigators, the first malware was found to have been installed on June 15, 2022. They added that no data was leaked between Dec. 2, 2024, and April 24, 2025. However, they could not confirm whether any data was leaked between June 15, 2022, and Dec. 2, 2024, a period without firewall log history. Regarding the concerns over possible damages from copy phones, whether the information of international mobile equipment identity, or IMEI, a 15-digit serial number assigned to every mobile phone, was leaked or not drew serious worries among the public. Unlike the government's previous announcement in April, the authorities confirmed during Monday's briefing that they found a hacked server containing 291,831 units of IMEI. According to investigators, there were no damage reports regarding the data breach at the country's biggest telecom carrier yet. They added that phone makers say making copy phones just using the IMEI information is technically impossible. 'Given the types of malware and the methods used in this attack, it is clear that a far more sophisticated level of analysis and efforts are needed compared to what we've seen before,' said Ryu Je-myung, deputy minister of the Office of Network Policy. "That is why we are conducting this investigation with the utmost intensity, based on the judgment that unless we uncover every potential risk thoroughly, there could be even greater threats in the future."
Korea Herald
01-05-2025
- Korea Herald
Ministry urges SKT to stop new signups over data breach
The South Korean government urged the country's leading mobile carrier SK Telecom to suspend new subscriber signups until its hacking-prompted USIM card replacement scheme gets back on track. In an administrative guidance order released Thursday, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced that the measures were drawn up to urge SK Telecom to implement stronger corrective actions in response to the cyberattack, which was detected by the mobile carrier on April 18. The order demands SK Telecom refrain from signing up new users until it secures a sufficient amount of USIM cards for replacements for existing users. It further requests that the mobile carrier submit a detailed plan to offer USIM Protection Service to the underprivileged, suggested during a parliamentary hearing of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on Wednesday, and to hold daily briefings to transparently share updates on the hack. SK Telecom has been offering free USIM card replacements as a follow-up measure in response to the data breach. Yet, with the mobile carrier unable to secure a sufficient amount of USIM cards for its roughly 25 million subscribers, the replacement scheme has been majorly delayed. 'The measures were drawn up to demand SK Telecom, a key telecommunication business entity that represents the country, take full responsibility to resolve the incident. The Science Ministry will put in all efforts as well,' said Kang Do-hyun, second vice minister of the Ministry of Science and ICT. Though an administrative guidance is not legally binding, SK Telecom is likely to adopt the instructions to a certain extent, considering they were made by regulatory authorities.
