[BreachExchange] Japan, US to team up against ransomware

[Terrell Byrd]

https://www.postguam.com/the_globe/world/japan-us-to-team-up-against-ransomware/article_45a512a2-66cf-11ec-9e65-f33987f22001.html


Japan and the United States are preparing to closely cooperate on defensive
measures against ransomware, designating such cyber-attacks as a threat to
national security, according to Japanese government officials. Tokyo and
Washington are expected to agree on cooperative measures in the
cybersecurity field at the Japan-U.S. Security Consultative Committee, also
known as 2-plus-2 security talks, involving each country's foreign and
defense chiefs.

The next talks are scheduled to be held online on Jan. 7.

Ransomware is a type of malware that hacks into a computer system to
encrypt data, making it inaccessible. The hacker then demands ransom in
exchange for restoring the data.

In the United States, there has been a surge in cyber-attack cases using
this form of malware, in which infrastructure, companies and government
bodies have come under target. In May, one of the largest pipelines in the
United States was forced to shut down due to the attack. In Japan,
hospitals and other facilities have been attacked this year.

The administration of President Joe Biden has pointed out that some hacker
groups are sponsored by China and Russia. Given that, the United States has
started to strengthen cooperation with private entities and discuss
countermeasures to be taken by the U.S. military. A U.S. Defense Department
official said there is a high possibility that important infrastructure
might be targeted in the event of a contingency.

In October, the U.S. National Security Council took the lead in holding an
online meeting with about 30 countries to affirm the strengthening of
international cooperation.

The Japanese government finds it difficult to counter hacker groups alone
in the event of a serious ransomware attack and needs to deepen cooperation
with the United States, which has advanced expertise to cope with
cyber-attacks.

Japan-U.S. cooperation is expected to consist of three main pillars:
swiftly sharing information on damage caused by ransomware attacks and
jointly analyzing cases that pose a threat to security; identifying hacker
groups and taking countermeasures; and enhancing the resilience of
companies and other organizations against cyber-attacks.

The U.S. government has raised concerns about Japan's low defense
capability against cyber-attacks such as ransomware attacks, in light of
the fact that Washington is moving ahead with the sharing of highly
classified military information. Last year, a cyber-attack on Mitsubishi
Electric Corp. led to the leak of defense-related information.

Japan and the United States hope to increase the resilience of the Japanese
side against cyber-attacks through bilateral cooperation, and further speed
up defense cooperation and interoperation in domains such as space.
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