| www.geostrategy-direct.com
Japan girds for cyberwar after Pyongyang switches to Internet to signal agents Japan’s government is stepping up efforts to protect its computer-based infrastructure against hackers and other cyber attackers. Tokyo is primarily concerned about intrusions from other nations, North Korea in particular. The Japanese Defense agency plans to spend $3.2 million on research for dealing with cyber attacks. Defense specialists also are being sent to the United States for training in cyber defenses. The Japanese government’s major fear is a possible attack from North Korean government-based hackers. According to Akihiko Nakajima, chief of the Command Telecommunications Division, Pyongyang ceased coded communications to its clandestine agents in Japan beginning in January of this year. He said communications have been embedded secretly “in the Internet.” The Japanese government says that its command and control systems are secure from outside intrusion. However, the threat to the systems comes from insiders or others who have planted trap doors. Nakajima told the Sankei Shimbun that “now a big problem is what we would do if a device were installed by vendors who have access through material requisitions, etc.” Hackers have penetrated and caused damage to web sites at numerous Japanese ministries, including those in charge of education, culture, sports, science and technology. Chinese hackers last year penetrated the web pages of government ministries and agencies, and data was rewritten to Chinese characters and in some cases a Chinese flag appeared. In response, the Tokyo set up a Cabinet office to promote countermeasures for information security and in December authorized a “special action plan to counter cyberterrorism directed against important infrastructure.” The plan is similar to the FBI’s national-level critical infrastructure protection office which aims to protect telecommunications, finance, transportation, electrical power, gas and government services from cyber attack. Japanese companies also are involved in cybersecurity by stepping up defenses through the use of firewalls and other Internet filtering devices. |
