Tighter cyber ties with South Korea sought by UK envoy

British Ambassador to South Korea Colin Crooks has urged an expanded cybersecurity collaboration between the two nations, citing escalating cyber threats and their advanced security ecosystems, Yonhap News Agency reports.

Speaking at a Royal United Services Institute event releasing a bilateral cooperation report, Crooks noted that major companies in both countries have suffered "destructive" cyberattacks over the past year, including an incident affecting South Korea's SK Telecom's 23 million users.

He described the 2023 strategic cyber partnership as a "great start," but emphasized that "there is much more that we can do together" across government, business, and academia. The two nations have already increased cooperation through joint exercises like the UK-led Defence Cyber Marvel and Seoul's Allied Power Exercise. Behind-the-scenes official engagement has reached unprecedented levels at international forums.

Crooks advocated for expanded joint technical advisories, coordinated cyber sanctions, and collaborative development of frameworks for offensive cyber operations. His remarks underscore the growing recognition that bilateral partnerships are essential to counter sophisticated, cross-border cyber threats affecting critical infrastructure and millions of citizens.

Written by

Sharon Florentine Editorial Director

Sharon Florentine is the editorial director for CyberRisk Alliance’s Channel Brands and acting editorial director for SC UK. She is responsible for setting strategy and editorial direction and developing content for news, features, analysis and other written content, moderates live webcasts, and oversees research projects. Sharon has previously held key editorial, content and leadership positions at DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, CIO.com, Ziff Davis Enterprise, and CRN, among others.