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Japan To Form Cyberdefense Unit

in
 
TOKYO (Nikkei)--The Ministry of Defense is moving to assemble a team to protect the nation's computer systems against organized attacks by international hackers.
 
Japans actions follow continued growth in the threat of organised attacks and the action taken by other countries around the world.
 
Cyberattacks against government institutions are on the rise, and the culprits are often alledged to have state sponsors.
 
The new Japanese unit, expected to be in place with a staff of more than 100 by the end of fiscal 2013, is supposed to bolster the nation's cyberdefenses. Spanning the three branches of the Self-Defense Forces, it will gather information on cyberattacks, analyze attackers' methods and simulate countering and pursuing them.
 
In parallel, the ministry will begin R&D on ways to analyze viruses used by hackers and on new viruses designed to track down attackers.
 
The ministry is expected to seek more than 10 billion yen in fiscal 2013 funding for cybersecurity.