Japan to compile emergency cybersecurity package by next week: Takaichi

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced on Monday that the government will finalize an emergency cybersecurity package by the end of the following week. This package aims to address a series of data breaches that have affected various Japanese companies. Takaichi emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating that it requires strengthening countermeasures.

The cybersecurity minister, Toshiharu Furukawa, along with Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, attended the ministerial meeting. They were instructed to collaborate with international partners to identify the sources of these attacks and determine the necessary budgets for their measures.

The meeting occurred as GMO Internet Group Inc., an internet service provider, requested active cyber defense measures from the government following a confirmed data breach. The breach resulted in the leaking of customer information, including account passwords, which were used in fraudulent transactions. GMO CEO Masatoshi Kumagai highlighted the need for the government to take a firm stance against cybercrime, despite the framework not being designed to be activated at the request of private companies.

GMO CEO Masatoshi Kumagai regretted the inadequacy of their response to warnings from in-house white-hat hackers who had previously flagged security issues. The unauthorized access targeted their onamae.com desktop cloud service. In a separate incident, customer inquiries about unauthorized transactions led to the discovery of the breach.

GMO plans to reimburse customers for losses and offer compensation of 5,000 yen ($32) to all affected customers. Meanwhile, other companies such as Ymirlink Inc. and Rakuten Group Inc. have also reported data breaches, exposing personal records and credit card information, respectively.