Tokyo, Nov. 5 (Jiji Press)–The Japanese government’s package of emergency cybersecurity measures will feature a public-private cyber rescue squad, it was learned Thursday. The government will approve the emergency package at a meeting of related ministers on Friday, in response to a spate of recent personal data breaches due to cyberattacks. The package “will mark a starting point for shifting to a society with one of the world’s highest levels of cyber resilience,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference on Thursday. According to an outline of the package, the cyber rescue squad will be dispatched flexibly to support organizations’ initial responses to cyberattacks. A secretariat for the squad will be set up by the end of fiscal 2026. The government will also organize and send a joint response team comprising officials from the National Cybersecurity Office, related ministries and agencies, the police, and the Defense Ministry and the Self-Defense Forces to organizations facing serious cyberattacks. The outline acknowledges that basic measures were insufficient in recent data breach cases. Noting that advanced artificial intelligence has made it possible to exploit system vulnerabilities immediately and extensively, it highlights the need for society as a whole to implement countermeasures. The outline lists four policies: fully implementing basic measures, including those using AI, strengthening information-gathering and investigation systems, responding strategically to cyberattacks, and enhancing measures to support victims and prevent damage from spreading. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
