SK shieldus said on the 26th that it signed a three-party memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korea Association of University IT Managers (IT Managers Association) and Escape Solution to strengthen cybersecurity at universities nationwide.
As cyberattacks have grown more sophisticated, universities in Korea are being exposed to security threats. Concerns are rising over various damages, from personal data leaks to disruptions of academic administration services through system takeovers. In fact, over the past nine years since 2017, the number of victims whose personal information was leaked at universities nationwide has reached 2.65 million, and in June this year, the ransomware group "Nova" stole portal system source code and databases from a university in Korea and posted them on the dark web.
With this agreement as a starting point, the three organizations plan to build an organic cooperation system by sharing security threat intelligence and jointly establishing security policies to create a stable academic operations environment. SK shieldus and Escape Solution will provide information on security threats and vulnerabilities to 226 member schools of the IT Managers Association and will also push product development and promotional policies to encourage the adoption of security solutions.
In particular, SK shieldus plans to provide uninterrupted, around-the-clock security monitoring services, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, backed by its top-tier cybersecurity know-how in Korea. Depending on future consultations, it plans to expand support to include security consulting and vulnerability assessments, establishing a comprehensive security framework that covers the entire process. SK shieldus operates the AI-based cybersecurity monitoring center "Secudium Center" and the incident response team "TOPCERT," and has supported the strengthening of security capabilities across key industries—including education, finance, healthcare, public, manufacturing, and energy.
Kim Byung-mu, head of cybersecurity at SK shieldus (executive vice president), said, "Universities, where large volumes of personal information and research data are concentrated, have recently become major targets of cyber threats," and added, "Based on SK shieldus' accumulated remote monitoring and incident response capabilities and AI-based security technologies, we will build security systems optimized for each university's environment and actively contribute to creating a safe research and education ecosystem."