Japan Seeks Cyber Warfare "Sail Away" Personnel | Case | Network
During the exercise, US and Japanese cyber fighters were monitoring radio frequencies.
According to Japanese media reports in mid August, the Japanese government will jointly build an intelligence network with relevant countries in the Indo Pacific region to quickly perceive and share information on the signs and methods of cyber attacks. Japan plans to connect its advanced countries in network defense, including the United States and Australia, with the network defense systems of other countries in the Indo Pacific region, build a regional network warfare early warning system, and expand the network perception space and monitoring range.
Expanding the Boundaries of Cyber Warfare Going Global
According to reports, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has included funding for strengthening cyber defense overseas in the 2024 budget estimate. Among them, the Indo Pacific region is considered a key area, and Japan will provide software and hardware support in this field to Southeast Asia and Pacific island countries through government development assistance. In addition to providing relevant equipment directly, Japan will also share its experience with relevant countries through holding joint exercises and providing targeted financial support.
It is reported that Japan has regarded cyberspace as the "fifth battlefield" after land, sea, air, and space, and believes that the current network attack methods targeting government agencies, power infrastructure, and other targets in various countries are complex and diverse, with numerous related cases. Network defense and countermeasures have become important issues faced by countries. Japan will deepen cooperation with so-called "friendly countries" with common diplomatic and security demands, with countries in the Indo Pacific region as the main focus, and achieve breakthroughs in cooperation in the field of the internet.
Previously, Japan had joined the NATO Center for Excellence in Network Defense and began participating in the NATO "Lock Shield" series of cybersecurity exercises on a regular basis in 2021. Although the exercise is titled Network Defense Exercise, the participating members are divided into red and blue teams for confrontation, conducting network attacks and defense exercises with each other. The simulated attack targets include both military departments, infrastructure, public and private sectors. In April this year, Japan participated in the exercise for the third time. In addition to the Ministry of Defense agencies and their respective guard network related forces, the Cabinet Cybersecurity Center, the Ministry of General Affairs, the Police Department, and important infrastructure operators all sent personnel to participate.
The purpose of Japan's investment in building a so-called cyber defense early warning intelligence network in the Indo Pacific region this time is to promote the standards, equipment, and designs of cyber warfare from the United States, Japan, and other countries to Southeast Asian countries and Pacific island countries through infrastructure assistance, talent training, and other means, and to incorporate them into the cyber warfare systems of the United States, Japan, and other countries, even labeling them as exclusive. At present, Japan has begun to promote the establishment of a "common principle" for cyber defense in the security dialogue mechanism between Japan, the United States, Australia, and India, and use it as a benchmark to promote the construction of an intelligence network in the Indo Pacific region, creating an intelligence early warning system that is in line with Japan's intentions. At the same time, Japan plans to introduce an "active network defense" mechanism after 2024, expanding network defense to include monitoring and early warning, defense, and countermeasures as one of its network operations. Currently, relevant legislative work is underway.
Strengthen the "active network defense" mechanism
In fact, "active network defense" is not a new concept. Japan's newly revised security policy documents such as the "National Security Strategy" in December 2022 clearly state that the Self Defense Force will accelerate the construction of an "active network defense" mechanism. The so-called "active network defense" refers to Japan's relevant departments regularly patrolling the cyberspace, detecting suspicious threats in advance, and taking countermeasures such as paralyzing attack source data based on relevant permissions. This is consistent with Japan's current strategy of adhering to a "dedicated defense" strategy, but turning to a systematic development of the so-called "counterattack capability". It has already surpassed the scope of defense and is a continuation and embodiment of the "preemptive" combat strategy in cyberspace. In recent years, the Japanese Self Defense Force has taken various measures to provide the basic conditions for building an active network defense mechanism.
In terms of policy design, the newly revised National Security Strategy and other security policy documents clearly emphasize the need for the Self Defense Force to strengthen its network protection capabilities, build network security capabilities at or above the same level as those in the United States and Europe, and include network combat capabilities as one of the seven pillar capabilities of the Self Defense Force for the next 10 years, with a focus on development.
In terms of force establishment, in March 2022, Japan will significantly expand its network defense team dedicated to conducting network attack and defense tasks. It is expected to expand from 890 personnel to 2230 personnel in 2023 and to around 4000 personnel by 2027. On July 1st of this year, the Japanese Ministry of Defense established a new position of Counselor in charge of responding to cyber attacks in the Minister's Office, and a new "Cybersecurity Course" was established in the Security Planning Bureau to improve the strength and command mechanism.
In terms of talent cultivation, the Japanese Ministry of Defense plans to reorganize the Ground Self Defense Force Communication School located in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture into a "Ground Self Defense System Communication and Network School" in 2023, and establish a "Network Education Department" to strengthen the training of network defense professionals and the development of network security technology. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense also plans to establish a more flexible talent mechanism by 2024, which can directly hire civilian talents with professional knowledge and relevant experience in the field of networks, in order to quickly form combat capabilities.
In terms of technical support, Japan's Defense Technology Guidelines 2023, released in June this year, emphasized that the Japanese Ministry of Defense will focus on developing cyberspace defense capabilities, focusing on network attack and defense technology, unknown attack detection and response technology, automatic blocking and response network kill chain technology, etc. In July, Japan established a new "Equipment Preservation Management Course" at the Defense Equipment Agency to strengthen network security measures for equipment suppliers, providing targeted support to relevant military enterprises.
Overall, Japan is constantly innovating its network warfare capabilities by extending its reach and weaving a network warfare warning and intelligence network in a "advanced and backward" manner. At the same time, under the guise of "active network defense," Japan is continuously developing its "preemptive" combat capabilities in cyberspace. This approach will pose a serious threat to global cybersecurity and is worthy of attention and vigilance.
