The ministry is looking to bring on 800 more staff by the end of March 2022, according to a report by Nikkei, which would take the Japanese government’s cybersecurity defence unit from about 660 personnel to nearly 1,500. Part of the hiring process will include hiring from the private sector. The cybersecurity unit is currently responsible for protecting shared systems used by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF). A new unit, however, will be stood up and launched in 2022 to oversee the cyber defence for the entire SDF and consolidate units for each branch, Nikkei said in the report. The plans announced by the Japanese government to beef up its cybersecurity defence follows a cyber attack in May that saw data from various government entities reportedly stolen by hackers that gained access to Fujitsu’s ProjectWEB platform. Among the impacted government entities included the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism; the Cabinet Secretariat; and Narita Airport, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said in a report. In the same month, the Japanese government also reportedly announced it would introduce new regulations across 44 sectors to further strengthen its national cyber defence, which was partly in response to the Colonial Pipeline hack that unfolded in the United States. The government plans to amend various laws governing each sector through passing an all-encompassing motion and a new law requiring each sector to be conscious of national security risks, Nikkei said in a report. The sectors that are expected to see the legislative changes include telecommunications, electricity, finance, railroads, government services, and healthcare, among others. Specifically, these sectors will reportedly be required to look into issues stemming from the use of foreign equipment or services, including cloud data storage and connections to servers located overseas.

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