Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday vowed to implement cybersecurity measures “strategically,” saying that the government would also keep open the option of using active cyber defense to prevent major cyberattacks before they occur. Speaking at the first meeting of relevant cabinet ministers on cybersecurity at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo, Takaichi said her government will “strategically select and implement all available response options, including access and neutralization measures,” in light of a string of personal information breaches caused by unauthorized access incidents at Japanese companies. She also said that the government will compile emergency measures as early as next week, instructing her ministers to proceed with discussions as soon as possible, including talks on fiscal measures. In addition, she called on her government to work on bolstering programs providing affected companies with consultation and assistance, on information gathering and dissemination mainly by the National Cybersecurity Office, and on cooperation with Japan’s allies and like-minded nations. Chaired by Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, the meeting was attended by Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama, Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, cybersecurity minister Toshiharu Furukawa and others. This month, the government launched an active cyber defense program. Under this, Japan’s police and Self-Defense Forces will hack into servers of the attackers and neutralize the threat, once they detect signs of attacks on key infrastructure operators, such as telecommunications, finance and electricity firms. GMO Internet Inc., whose servers used for automated FX margin trading were targeted in a cyberattack, said Saturday that it asked the government to apply active cyber defense. On Monday, GMO Internet revealed that the attackers had demanded that the company pay 50 million dollars, or some 8 billion yen, by last Wednesday. Kihara at a press conference on Monday refused to go into GMO Internet’s request, saying that disclosing information would mean that “attackers would know about the government’s progress on related actions.” On whether the country will implement active cyber defense, Kihara said, “We don’t have an established procedure involving requests made by attack-hit organizations.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
