TOKYO -- Cyberattacks have drastically jumped around the world, and Japan may have become easy prey.
Between September and November last year, Japan was targeted with the second-highest number of cyberattacks in the world after the U.S., according to a recent report by Canadian cybersecurity company BlackBerry, which said 8% of the 1.76 million attacks it had detected in the period were directed at Japan.
It is no surprise that the U.S., the world's top information and technology destination, was the No.1 target. But why did Japan come under such a heavy attack? "Hacker groups around the world may have realized how feeble the country's cyberdefense is," said a Japanese government official in charge of national security.
In the first half of 2022, an average 7,800 cases of unauthorized access -- nearly all of them from abroad -- were detected daily in Japan, double the number for all of 2019, according to the National Police Agency.
Japan clearly lags behind other advanced nations in cybersecurity. After analyzing cyberdefense capabilities of 15 major countries, the International Institute for Strategic Studies placed Japan at the bottom of its three-scale ranking in a June 2021 report. The London-based think tank cited the country's weak cybersecurity in both public and private sectors, inducing its ability to keep track of malicious intrusion attempts and lack of a legal framework to launch counterattacks.
Japan received the second-highest number of cyberattacks in the world in the three months through November in 2022. © ReutersJapan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) have only about 890 staff in its cyberdefense unit, compared with an estimated 175,000 in its Chinese counterpart and 6,800 in the North Korean military. Israeli forces reportedly have several thousand personnel assigned to the cyber unit.
Currently, Japan does not have adequate cyberdefense capability to protect its information, technology and infrastructure. The ongoing war in Ukraine shows a country faces serious cyberattacks once it is involved in a military conflict.
Sensing the worsening situation, Tokyo has begun to bolster defenses with plans to increase the cybersecurity unit of the SDF to 4,000 people by the end of fiscal 2027. In January, it set up a new organization in the Cabinet Secretariat to create a system capable of tracing sources of dubious access and take countermeasures.
But these measures alone cannot ensure the safety of Japan's cyberspace. Even if the SDF has 4,000 personnel, it may not be enough to protect the country's key infrastructure. The SDF "would be busy protecting their own system in a contingency or a war situation," said a senior Defense Ministry official.
To better cope with growing threats, Japan must first foster a pool of cybersecurity talent in the private sector. Israel can offer a good example of how to do it.
Despite a relatively small population of 9.5 million, Israel is said to have a cyberwarfare capability nearly as good as that of the U.S. The International Institute for Strategic Studies placed Israel in the "Tier Two" group next to the U.S., which was the only "Tier One" country, according to its analysis. Israel amply demonstrated its ability in 2010, when it collaborated with Washington to disrupt Iran's nuclear development.
Israel is home to 12% of the world's top 500 cybersecurity companies, the second highest after U.S. Silicon Valley, which holds a 32% share, according to the online edition of the U.S. magazine National Interest published last March.
Tel Aviv University Professor Isaac Ben-Israel, known as the father of Israel's cybersecurity, attributes the country's success to public-private collaboration in fostering cyber talent.
"Cyber technology changes in a matter of months, and no one knows what will happen in a few years. Therefore, we thought we had no choice but to build an ecosystem that would produce human resources capable of adapting quickly to any changes," said Ben-Israel, Israel's former top military scientist.
"First, we established a cyber course at all high schools and made it a required subject for graduate exams. In Israel, both men and women are required to serve in the military for almost three years from the age of 18," Ben-Israel said. "After graduating from high school, the excellent young men and women are selected to cyber units and other relevant positions to acquire higher skills."
After military service, some people move to the private sector to work for cybersecurity companies, according to Ben-Israel. "All universities in Israel teach cyber technology and have cyber research centers to develop cutting-edge technologies," he said.
Staff at South Korea's Internet and Security Agency in Seoul watch electronic boards monitoring possible ransomware attacks. © APSouth Korea has built its cyber professional system modeled after Israel's. The system is designed to nurture human resources through collaboration between the Ministry of National Defense and universities. Korea University, for example, has a tuition-free four-year program that includes a course in computer hacking. Graduates serve in the military for a set period before finding work in the private sector.
Unlike Israel and South Korea, Japan has neither mandatory military service nor adversaries sharing its borders, but it can still learn a lot from these countries about how to build cyberdefenses.
Japan's major obstacle may be its tradition of prioritizing teamwork over free inquiry and creativity. To excel in cyber technology, it is important to think outside the box, rather than following orders.
"Good hackers are often eccentric and have different skill sets from others," said a former top official at a Western intelligence agency. "It is important to respect their unique talent and find areas where they can excel."
"In Israel, if you don't agree with someone, even if they are a teacher or your boss, you argue with them," Ben-Israel said. "Such a culture of questioning authority and not being afraid of taking risks is the basis of our success today and, more generally, our success in science and technology."
Japan has no lack of talented youngsters skillful in cyber technology. "Japanese are often among winners of overseas hacking contests," said Kana Shinoda, representative of Blue, a Tokyo-based company promoting the exchange and education of cyber talent.
Japan's future depends on its ability to embrace creative young minds with unique aspirations, and let them play a key role in building its cyberdefenses.
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