South Korea Joins Forces with U.S. in Major Cyber Defense Drill

South Korea’s Cyber Operations Command is taking part in Cyber Flag, a multinational cyber defense exercise hosted by U.S. Cyber Command, according to a Defense Ministry statement released Monday.

The exercise is being conducted from Monday through Friday at the U.S. National Cyber Range Complex in Virginia.

A seven-member team from the Cyber Operations Command is participating in the drill to bolster their capabilities in responding to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and to exchange threat intelligence with other participating nations.

The South Korean military has been a regular participant in this exercise since 2022, following an agreement reached during the eighth South Korea-U.S. Cyber Cooperation Working Group meeting in May 2023. This commitment was further reinforced at the 55th Security Consultative Meeting held in November of the same year.

Established in 2011, Cyber Flag is an annual exercise designed to strengthen partnerships between the United States and its allies, with a particular focus on the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which comprises Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

“The Cyber Flag exercise, coupled with bilateral drills between South Korean and U.S. cyber commands and the exchange of cyber experts and technologies, will serve to further enhance cyber cooperation between our two nations,” the ministry emphasized.