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Japan Quick Tech Update
Credit: Dick Thomas Johnson
October has been an eventful month for tech in Japan.
A glitch stopped the Tokyo Stock Exchange bourse trading for a whole day, apparently caused by a hardware breakdown, followed by a failed switchover to backups.
Japan’s PM Yoshihide Suga continued his digitisation efforts, eliminating "hanko" seals for marriage, divorce papers and Bank of Japan (BOJ) transactions.
He also unveiled a major shift in position on climate change, together with a new energy policy review by minister Kajiyama.
In the meantime, BOJ announced the start of digital currency tests set for next year.
Finally, Britain and the United States accused Russia of hacking attempts directed at disrupting the Tokyo Olympics Games.
This issue of TÉKUNI is about these alleged attacks, with comments from security expert Antonio Perret.
👨💻 TÉKUNI Exclusive - Antonio Perret
Originally from Switzerland, Antonio has been working in the technology sector for 18 years, mainly in banks. He started working as IT support, then help desk roles, and eventually information security.
Eager to expand his infosec knowledge, Antonio worked to get various certifications, including CISM, CISA and CISSP. He also achieved a Master's degree in Information Security from the University of Geneva.
After working for some years in Switzerland, Antonio moved to Japan, where has been living for six years.
According to the security expert, the professional environment for a foreigner is quite tough in Japan.
“Despite having a relatively broad and long experience in IT, it is difficult for a foreigner to get a job that combines technical capacities, personality and willingness to grow in a company. Something we tend to think as normal in Europe.”
Antonio explains how, contrary to popular knowledge, Japan has a huge lag in terms of IT literacy, as the expectations from companies and potential candidates for related roles are rather different.
“Since they use technology so extensively and Japan was among the first countries to broadly use cellphones and a lot of other electronic devices, we still have this image of Japan as being a technologically advanced country. The reality is completely different.”
Antonio says he has experienced various situations where people working in the cybersecurity sector were not aware of the latest technologies and encryption techniques.
“I often use the image that in Japan a candidate is not seen as someone who can bring his own experience and knowledge. Instead, a candidate is similar to a new empty USB key. The company loads the USB key with their knowledge, which is often outdated.”
This way, candidates only knows what they learn from the company and for them, that's limit of their knowledge: “nothing exists beyond the confines of this box.”
Antonio mentions some recent events to corroborate the idea that Japan is lagging behind in terms of infosec, including the hacking of the Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces in 2016.
“A few years later, Yoshitaka Sakurada deputy chief of the government’s cybersecurity strategy office and minister in charge of the 2020 Olympics publicly recognised not knowing what was a USB key was.”
According to the infosec expert, Japan is an avid consumer of IT products but most people are not aware of how those technologies work in the background.
“You may have heard about faxes still broadly used in Japan. That's not a myth.”
Talking about the recent hacking attempts on the Olympics, Antonio confesses he’s not surprised.
“Whether we talk about previous Olympic Games or US elections, hacking attempts are always targeting such organisations.”
As for the allegations that Russia is behind the attacks, the security expert says he does not have enough information to formulate an opinion.
“I do not have access to any of the evidence, trace, or logs. if I could access any relevant material I could potentially formulate an opinion, but in my actual position this would be only speculations.”
However, Antonio says the fact that Russia faced exclusion from the Olympic Committee could give them a motive for the crime.
When asked what he thinks about the fact the Olympic sponsor Panasonic Corp said no attack was detected, Antonio said this was a good example of how differently Japan and the West respond to such events.
“On one side we have the UK/US who are prone to accuse and on the other side we have a Japanese company, which usually avoid direct and confrontational communication.”
As for the goal beyond the attack, Antonio believes it was not aimed at disrupting any service, as he thinks it might be politically motivated.
“For them, the ultimate goal is not to put down the organisation but more likely to steal some targeted data.”
Antonio concludes his interviewing by mentioning he is not worried about how these attack could actually be damaging for the Olympics.
“The organisers indirectly benefit from a lot of highly skilled and specialised workers around the globe who works for this project until the end of the games.”
The security expert says both Japan and the Olympics’ international team want to ensure nothing disrupts the organisation, so they must be investing quite a lot to make sure the best technologies are used.
“These attacks were reported by UK National Cyber Security Centre in a joint operation with US intelligence agencies, which says a lot about the means they can afford.”
❓ Want to find out more about the latest tech news in Japan?
🔗 Here is the newsletter’s link section:
Police test AI use for criminal investigations - The Japan Times
Japan to mull fresh anti-stalking steps against GPS monitoring - Kyodo
Companies to develop hydrogen-powered trains - The Mainichi
Japanese firms to build electric tankers - NHK
Japanese seafood industry taps AI for fish selection - Jiji
QR code wins award for global impact in electronics - Kyodo
Japan joins forces with US, Europe in regulating Big Tech - Reuters
CEATEC tech show goes completely virtual - Japan Today
A new teamLab exhibition just opened in Fukuoka - TimeOut
Fukuoka driving school adopts AI-based system - Japan Today
AstraZeneca resumes vaccine trial in Japan, in talks with US - Reuters
NEC to support 5G wireless networks in Britain - Japan Today
Panasonic to close video-camera factory - NHK
Fujitsu is investigating Tokyo Stock Exchange outage - Japan Today
Japan to do without "hanko" seals - Kyodo
Japan Losing Its Edge in Science? - NHK
Japan's Bullet Trains Hit a Speed Bump Due to Virus - Bloomberg
Supercomputer shows humidity affects spread of Covid19 - Reuters
Japan seatbelt maker suspected of falsifying data - NHK
Russia targeted Tokyo Olympics in cyberattacks: British gov't - Kyodo
China's intrusions behind drone tests - NHK
What's the legacy of Japan's Fukushima disaster? (Video) - Al Jazeera
Facial recognition to halt virus spread during Olympics - Kyodo
Japan's govt to shut China out of its drone supply chain - Reuters
Renovated Katase-Enoshima Station looks like a castle - TimeOut
Universal Studios Japan to open Nintendo themed area - Kyodo
JAXA to build a fuel processing plant on the moon - Sora News 24
Mail delivery robot makes test run on Tokyo road - Kyodo
First-ever foot-operated vending machine appears - Sora News 24
Feed animals in Japan’s zoos virtually online - TimeOut
Company develops motion simulator seat for home use - Sora News 24
Free virtual gallery lets you curate own online art exhibition - TimeOut
Kyocera develops see-through car dashboards - The Asahi Shimbun
Shibuya’s famous Halloween parade is going virtual - TimeOut
A completely renewed Ginza Station in Tokyo - The Mainichi
Tokyo temple holds funeral for personal seals - Sora News 24
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