South Korea's National Security Office convened a cybersecurity review meeting on Thursday, chaired by Third Deputy Director Oh Hyun-joo, to assess inter-agency responses to cyber threats leveraging artificial intelligence (AI).
According to the Presidential Office, the meeting was arranged to explore countermeasures as the possibility of cyberattacks exploiting AI technology has become a reality. Concerns over cybersecurity have grown after Mithos, a next-generation AI model recently unveiled by U.S. AI firm Anthropic, was confirmed to possess the ability to detect and exploit vulnerabilities that security experts had failed to identify.
In response, the National Security Office instructed ministries overseeing the private, public, and military sectors to implement emergency measures. Officials from the Ministry of Science and ICT, the National Intelligence Service, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Financial Services Commission attended the meeting.
The meeting is expected to discuss practical measures to support swift responses to cyber threats, including vulnerability patching, across the private sector — encompassing large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises — and the public sector, which includes government bodies, local governments, and public institutions. Based on the day's discussions, the government plans to operate a joint inter-agency response team centered on technical experts to share vulnerability information and enable immediate action.
"Hacking using AI is generating new threats, but at the same time, AI is a key driver that can transform security capabilities," Oh said. "We will advance our security technology capabilities in response to the changing environment and strengthen the nation's cybersecurity response capacity by solidifying the AI-based security industry and data security framework."
