The Nexus2050 tech conference brought together some 200 startups at Luxexpo The Box on 26-27 June 2024, including Naru Security, a cybersecurity company that was established in South Korea in 2010.
CEO and founder Joon Kim, who was in Luxembourg to pitch his company, began his career at the Korea Internet & Security Agency as a security incident responder. Kim is also a national joint incident response team member and has served as a cyber security advisor for the Korea Cyber Command and National Police Agency.
Upon leaving the agency, he told Delano during an interview, he started his own cybersecurity company: Naru. “Since then, we are working with the government, serving highly sophisticated tech in their networks. We have relationships with the Korean cyber command, and also the Korean intelligence agencies as well.”
Sophisticated attacks getting more common
The company works with government agencies to find problems in Korean networks, Kim explained. “As you know, we have North Korea--the brother up there--and they are working really hard against our networks.”
We are seeking to deliver our capabilities to Luxembourg and the European market
“Ten years ago, it was rare to have such sophisticated attacks,” he added. But nowadays, they’re getting more common, particularly among nation state hackers like Russia, China or North Korea.
Tailored cyber services
Naru’s main services focus on threat hunting--which involves identifying compromised assets in a network--instant response capabilities and tailored cyber intelligence, explained Kim. The company also has experience with North Korean cyberattacks and has advised the South Korean government on the subject. “We try to extend our methodology to track the Russian hackers,” he said, and to “develop our capabilities even further.” With the rise of cyberattacks, Kim expects companies may be interested in using the intelligence that Naru can provide.
Naru is now working on expanding its business from the public sector to the private sector, and--in fact--is looking to expand and provide its services to the European market. “We see Luxembourg as the best place to do business.”
“We are seeking to deliver our capabilities to Luxembourg and the European market,” Kim concluded, who added that he hope to discuss these topics with people in Luxembourg and the House of Cybersecurity, with whom he was scheduled to meet the following day. “In the meanwhile, we will find a way so that we can contribute to making European cyberspace better with our capabilities.”
Foreign minister (DP) and minister for digitalisation, research and higher education (DP) on 2 July during a working visit. During the visit, members of the Luxembourg delegation--Francois Thill, Gauthier Crommelink and Jenny Hällen-Hedberg-- with Naru Security, as well as and , two of the other South Korean companies who were present at Nexus2050.