Strengthening Cybersecurity and Resilience of Critical Infrastructure - Insights from the Republic of Korea and Other Digital Nations

Starting in the late 1990s, digitally advanced countries began developing comprehensive strategies and implementing vital regulations to safeguard national infrastructure against the perpetual escalation of malicious cyber operations. This policy note analyzes various strategies for the expansion of critical infrastructure protection (CIP) policies in developed digital nations, including the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the United States, Germany, and Japan. These countries were chosen among those that have enacted legislation on CIP or established and implemented relevant strategies since the early 2000s whose experience can provide valuable lessons for countries embarking on establishing a policy framework for CIP or exploring different options to that end. Korea, in particular, has chosen to gradually elevate the agenda of CIP to the core of its cybersecurity policies. Such an incremental approach can ease the entry barriers for developing countries that are at relatively early stages of policy development. There is broad consensus that there is no universal framework, much less an ideal one, for CIP regulations, as each nation has pursued a unique approach. This report identifies three characteristics of the policies pursued by these nations: Establishment of legal frameworks to systematically identify threats and uphold the minimum security standard of CI operators; implementation of subsequent additional protective measures and supplementary policies. Government-led incorporation of resilience into the policy frameworks of the CIP. Active leveraging of the expertise of the private sector and encourage voluntary participation via public-private partnerships (PPPs).