Japan forms elite ‘Top Gun’ team to counter hackers and bolster cybersecurity - 联合早报
Japan will invest 10 billion yen ($81 million) to create a central anti-hacking team amid increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks targeting the nation's critical infrastructure.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi convened a ministerial meeting on cybersecurity on November 6, instructing officials to revise the Cyber Response Capabilities Strengthening Act and enhance cybersecurity measures. The government believes rapid advances in artificial intelligence are changing the nature of cyberattacks, requiring stronger defenses to protect critical infrastructure including financial institutions.
Elite Team Formation
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will bring together leading cybersecurity specialists this month to form a government cybersecurity team. Drawing an analogy with the Hollywood film Top Gun, participants described the team as an elite force to safeguard Japan's cybersecurity. The team will use AI to counter hackers and detect weaknesses in network systems.
At this very moment, cases of unauthorised access and data breaches are occurring, causing a major impact on daily lives of the people and corporate activities. Let us increase the response capability across Japan by devoting all government resources.
Recent Attacks
Several prominent Japanese companies were targeted by hackers in October. Car park operator Times Group suffered a leak of 6.6 million personal information records, while Burger King experienced a breach of 11.18 million records. GMO Internet Group confirmed hackers demanded a $1 million ransom after customer data was leaked.
After analyzing these attacks, authorities identified gaps in safeguards provided by cybersecurity firms. They issued a new security alert based on the attack methods, urging companies handling personal information to implement protective measures.
Future Measures
The cybersecurity team will work with technology companies and AI developers in friendly countries to maintain up-to-date security expertise. Additional measures include using AI to develop basic countermeasures, strengthening intelligence capabilities, and providing greater support to attack victims.
The government hopes to implement legislation on "active cyber defence" soon, allowing police and Self-Defense Forces to help combat hackers. This follows the discovery of a major vulnerability in PHP, a widely used programming language, which officials described as "the eve of a cyber crisis".
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