The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the National Intelligence Service, and power generation companies will jointly strengthen power generation system cybersecurity.

Cyber threats to overseas energy control systems have been continuously reported recently.

In Ukraine, a malware attack on a power plant in 2015 caused a massive power outage, shutting down the plant. Also in Germany, in 2016, a nuclear power plant's fuel processing system was infected with malware, causing a shutdown.

As cyber threats to power plants become more real, the need for preemptive response and technological development is being raised.

Accordingly, on the 3rd, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy signed the necessary business agreement with 9 organizations (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, National Intelligence Service, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea South-East Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea Western Power, Korea Southern Power, Korea East-West Power, Korea District Heating Corporation, and KEPCO KDN) to jointly promote research and development for the establishment of a security control system for power generation control systems.

This project aims to ensure the stable operation of power generation facilities by monitoring internal and external cyberattacks on power plant operation control systems and blocking security threats in advance.

Lee Ho-jun, Director General of Policy Planning at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said, “Through this project in which all domestic power generation companies participate, we will prevent duplicate investments by jointly promoting research and development and systematically strengthen security through collaboration.” He added, “This project is expected to not only strengthen national competitiveness by ensuring the stable operation of power facilities from cyber threats, but also greatly contribute to the development of the domestic cybersecurity-related industry.”