Make serious effort to overcome weaknesses in domestic systems

In response to the heightening tensions over international developments, the threat of cyber-attacks is also growing in Japan. The government must increasingly be on the alert and make a serious effort to tackle the situation, or there could be a serious impact on people’s way of life. The government’s e-Gov online system and some company websites were among those that suffered damage from cyber-attacks in early September, including being taken out of service. The incident is believed to have been caused by DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks, which transmit massive amounts of data to bring down systems. The pro-Russia hacker group Killnet has claimed involvement in the attacks. Asserting that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is legitimate, the group called its cyber-attack on Japan a “declaration of war.” Studies show that similar attacks have increased fivefold worldwide since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If government agencies and critical infrastructure, such as telecommunications and electricity facilities, become inoperable, the damage could be incalculable. The government must do its utmost to monitor and defend the nation to prevent such an occurrence. It has been long pointed out that Japan has system vulnerabilities, making the nation a target for cyber-attacks. Recently, there have been attacks caused by ransomware, a type of malware where ransom is demanded of the victims. In February, a firm that supplies auto parts to Toyota Motor Corp. had its system infected by ransomware, prompting the temporary suspension of all Toyota plants in the nation.

Source