Naver Cloud's investments in cybersecurity are yielding tangible results on the global stage. The company has demonstrated its technical capabilities by achieving a top-1% ranking in a prestigious international hacking competition, a milestone expected to further strengthen trust in its cloud and sovereign AI businesses targeting high-security sectors such as government, finance, and defense.
According to industry sources on June 16, “The Seoul Sauna Shogunate,” a multinational team led by Naver Cloud's security division, ranked seventh among 686 teams in the qualifying round of DEF CON CTF 2026 held in May. The result secured the team a place in the finals, which will take place in Las Vegas this August.
DEF CON CTF is one of the world's most prestigious hacking competitions, held annually as part of the DEF CON cybersecurity conference. Often referred to as the “Olympics of Hacking,” the event attracts elite white-hat hackers and leading cybersecurity firms from around the world. Only 12 teams earn qualification for the final round.
To compete in the event, Naver Cloud assembled a multinational alliance team. The group brought together Naver Cloud's security team, the penetration testing team from SK Shieldus, a Japanese programming club, a Finnish hacker collective, and several Korean hacker groups. By combining each participant's strengths and leveraging different time zones, the team maintained continuous operations throughout the 48-hour competition.
The qualification marks a significant achievement for Naver Cloud, highlighting both its cybersecurity expertise and its ability to effectively utilize AI technologies.
This year's preliminary round allowed the use of AI tools but required participants to solve challenges primarily through human-led decision-making, making strong in-house security and AI capabilities essential. Industry observers noted that the result is particularly remarkable because it was achieved by the security team of a general IT company competing against specialized hacking groups and dedicated cybersecurity firms. Unlike offensive security teams that focus on penetration testing and attack techniques, corporate security teams are typically oriented toward defense, with an emphasis on ensuring that no vulnerabilities go undetected.
The achievement is also seen as a reflection of Naver Cloud's recent efforts to strengthen its security capabilities. In April, the company established a new Security Strategy organization responsible for developing company-wide AI security policies and advancing incident response systems. It recruited Kim Jin-hwi, a former executive from the National Cyber Security Center under South Korea's National Intelligence Service, to lead the organization. More recently, the company has been expanding its cybersecurity workforce through recruitment of senior AI security engineers.
These developments are expected to benefit Naver Cloud's cloud and sovereign AI businesses targeting highly regulated industries, including government, finance, and defense. In sectors that handle sensitive data, particularly defense, security credibility is considered a critical factor in winning contracts and expanding adoption.
“The process of identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in hacking competitions directly enhances real-world security capabilities,” said Kim Jae-dong, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Naver Cloud. “By collaborating with security researchers from various countries, we will continue to strengthen the cybersecurity expertise required of a global technology company.”
