Cybersecurity package rolled out after attacks targeting GMO - 朝日新聞
Japan’s government approved an emergency countermeasure package on November 6 in response to a series of cyberattacks targeting the GMO Internet Group, allocating 10 billion yen for the initiative.
The package, approved at a Cabinet meeting, identifies unaddressed system vulnerabilities as the root cause of the unauthorized access incidents that led to information leaks. It is built around four pillars: ensuring the thorough implementation of basic cyberdefense measures through the use of artificial intelligence; strengthening information gathering and sharing as well as investigative and analytical capabilities; strategically responding to cyberattacks; and enhancing support for victims and measures to prevent further damage.
A key proposal within the package is to examine access-restriction measures by telecommunications carriers. The government envisions options such as blocking, under which carriers would prevent access to websites where personal information has been posted online. However, because such measures could infringe on citizens’ rights, they are expected to be cautiously considered.
Active Cyber Defense
The package also calls for bolstering the framework needed to ensure the steady implementation of an Active Cyber Defense (ACD). This framework, known as a 'neutralization measure,' allows the police and the Self-Defense Forces to infiltrate computers used by attackers and disable their ability to carry out cyberattacks. A related law authorizing such actions took effect in October.
We will strategically select and implement every available response option, including the neutralization measures.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed officials to revise relevant legislation, considering expanding the scope of information that can be collected in cyberspace during peacetime as part of efforts utilizing an ACD. The government believes it is highly likely that AI has been used in the cyberattacks incidents and that the damage could become even more severe as more advanced AI systems are developed.
Government response
The emergency measures package was compiled in about a week following Takaichi’s instructions. It also includes a proposal from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party titled 'On the eve of a cyber emergency.' Former cybersecurity minister Masaaki Taira compared the situation to the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, saying, 'We are now in a situation where infections are spreading aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship,' which was quarantined in Yokohama Port at the time.
Officials close to Takaichi acknowledged that, 'The package is not something that will produce immediate results' and 'what can be done is limited.' A government official described the pledge as 'a deterrent to the attackers.' The package was released on November 6 after being approved at the Cabinet meeting of relevant ministers.
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