Discussion over Introducing Active Cyber Defense

Fumio Kishida administration embarked on enhancing cyber security in Japan. Kishida had a meeting of experts on active cyber defense (ACD), which would enable the government to oversee communications and disable possible cyberattacks by sneaking into enemy’s server. One of the important talking points is how to compensate with a requirement of the Constitution which guarantees the people freedom of communication. 

National Security Strategy (NSS) 2022 emphasizes necessity of ensuring security of critical infrastructures in Japan. “The response capabilities in cybersecurity should be strengthened to an equal level to the Western countries or surpass it,” NSS says.

 

Adding to that, NSS requires Japanese government to introduce ACD to eliminate possibility of serious cyberattacks, recommending information sharing with private sectors, utilizing information of telecommunication providers and authority to penetrate attacker’s servers.

 

Those efforts are urged by the United States that recognized vulnerability of information system of Japan. US National Security Agency warned Japan in 2020 that China had penetrated Japan’s classified defense networks. US security officials briefed defense minister of Japan to alert the prime minister.

 

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida established a conference by the experts earlier this month, which is headed by a former Ambassador to the US, Ken-ichiro Sasae. Kishida Instructed Minister for Digital Transformation, Taro Kono, to prepare for submitting a bill for ACD. Kono requested the conference to wrap up the discussion within a few months to submit the bill to the extraordinary session of the Diet this fall.

 

The experts will discuss how to establish close communications with private sectors, how to search the servers suffering from malicious software and how to make the server inactive and harmless. But the biggest talking point should be how to avoid violating secrecy of communications.

 

“No censorship shall be maintained, nor shall the secrecy of any means of communication be violated,” says Article 21 of the Constitution of Japan. But the government of Japan supposes that the obstacle can be cleared by the principle of “public welfare.” “Secrecy of communication can be subjected to some restraints to a minimum extent from the perspective of public welfare,” said Director General of Cabinet Legislation Bureau in the Diet discussion.

 

To avoid unnecessary breach of human rights, the government of Japan is required to be careful in setting a rule on to what extent the government can collect the information and how to disclose those activities. 

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