Japan holds first cyberattack drill to bolster national security

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/japan-holds-first-full-cybersecurity-drill

Japan held a full-on cyberattack across government departments on Tuesday
in a drill aimed at bolstering national security as the country gears up to
host the 2020 Olympics.

Japan is following the lead of Britain, which invited ethical hackers to
test its computer systems in the run up to the 2012 London Olympics. In the
event, London parried multiple cyberattacks.

Some 50 cyber-defense specialists gathered at an emergency response center
in Tokyo, with at least three times that many offsite, to defend against a
simulated attack across 21 state ministries and agencies and 10 industry
associations, said Ikuo Misumi, a hacking expert at Japan's state-run
National Information Security Center.

"It's not that we haven't put effort into cybersecurity, but we are
certainly behind the U.S.," Ichita Yamamoto, the cabinet minister in charge
of IT policy and who is leading the effort to boost cybersecurity, said in
an interview.

The government forecasts Japan's first summer Olympics since 1964 will lift
the economy. But officials worry it could also make Japan a target for
computer hackers. Attacks by foreign and domestic hackers against the
government doubled last year, Misumi said.

Officials have acknowledged that even though Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has
passed a strict official-secrets law, the government cannot adequately
protect itself from malicious internet hackers. This is a worry for America
as the two allies review their decades-old defense pact to respond to new
threats, including state-backed hackers.

The government has also vowed to safeguard Japan's cutting-edge technology
from industrial espionage. Last week, Toshiba Corp sued SK Hynix Inc,
saying a former employee passed key chip technology to the South Korean
rival.

Japan's cybersecurity is shared among the National Police Agency and four
ministries, including those for defense and industry.

Tuesday's drill is the first time that Japan has worked together across
government and business to counter the threat of hackers, Misumi said.

The test will help break down various "silos that currently exist in
Japan", said William Saito, a U.S.-born tech entrepreneur recruited to
advise the government.

IT minister Yamamoto this month convened the first meeting of cybersecurity
officials from the ministries and police agency, joined by outside experts,
to hammer out a unified approach to Japan's online security.

Yamamoto said his group will begin making recommendations by the summer.
They might include encouraging more students to take up computer science or
developing security software in Japan to guard against hackers rather than
relying on imported products.

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