Japan strengthens cybersecurity response amid surge in unauthorized access

The Japanese government has convened its first inter-agency meeting to address a surge in unauthorized access incidents. Cyber Security Minister Shunji Yoshikawa described the situation as “extremely urgent,” calling for strengthened measures among businesses handling personal information, including rapid vulnerability patching and multi-factor authentication.

Officials from the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity noted a potential increase in incidents since August, highlighting concerns that attackers are increasingly exploiting artificial intelligence. The government plans to centralize information gathering by having businesses report incidents to relevant ministries, which will then be aggregated by the National Center to prevent future attacks.

In response to the rising threat landscape, Cyber Security Cloud has established an “Emergency Security Consultation Desk.” The service provides free initial consultations and investigations for domestic companies, focusing on system environment checks, attack log analysis, and vulnerability assessments. Data from the company indicates a significant rise in cyberattacks, with attack detections in September reaching approximately 450 million, a notable increase compared to the previous year.