JAPAN RELEASES NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY STRATEGY

Cyber security was highlighted as one of Japan’s defence priorities, in its recent Defence Posture Review Interim Report published by the Ministry of Defence on 26 July.

The ministry recognised the need to divide responsibilities among ministries, and strengthen coordination and cooperation with countries such as the US and the private sector. It will consider policies to steadily introduce necessary equipment and train specialists.

The report serves as a basis for the new National Defense Programme Guidelines, that steers Japan’s medium to long-term defence principles. The Japanese government will review and release new guidelines by the end of this year.

Just a month earlier, on 10 June, the National Information Security Centre (NISC) released its Cyber Security Strategy. It described the roles of government, critical infrastructure providers, companies, individuals, and cyberspace-related operators, in these three areas:

• Resilient Cyberspace - strengthen ability of protection and recovery among all stakeholders
• Vigorous Cyberspace - strengthen creativity and knowledge through developing technology, capacity building and increasing public literacy
• World-leading Cyberspace - strengthen ability of contribution and outreach through diplomacy, global outreach and international cooperation

NISC will be reorganised to become the authoritative ‘Cyber Security Centre’ in the financial year of 2015. It has laid out the following goals:

• Mid-term goal (by FY2015) To increase the sharing of cyber security information among government agencies and critical infrastructure providers, decrease malware infection rates and citizen concerns, and improve international incident coordination
• Long-term goal (by 2010) To double the size of domestic information security market, and decrease the lack of proportion in security professionals.