The government has decided to conduct a cyber-attack drill in November that will simulate an attack on important infrastructure in Japan just before the Tokyo Olympic or Paralympic Games next summer.
A record 4,000-plus people are expected to participate. The drill will have a complex plot to improve the ability of authorities to deal with serious trouble and ensure that the Games come off without a hitch.
The government has designated 14 classes of important infrastructure as having the potential to cause particularly extensive disruption if hit by a cyber-attack. They include electricity, railways, aviation, telecommunications and water supply.
The drill is scheduled to take place on Nov. 8 and include operators of the infrastructure, officials from relevant ministries and agencies and members of the Games' organizing committee.
The government has conducted annual drills across various fields since fiscal 2006. The number of participants in the forthcoming drill is certain to surpass the current record of 3,077 set in December last year.
The drill will utilize the information sharing system of the new national center that launched in April to handle cyber-threats. Through the system, each private operator and relevant ministry or agency has access to the same information about the method of attack and extent of damage. They can also see what steps are being taken to restore service.
In the past, drills focused mainly on sending and receiving information at the time a disruption occurs. The upcoming drill will be more practical because it will also focus on what decision to take in response to the situation and sharing information on that response. The drill will involve a complicated set of scenarios. Ideas under discussion include a situation in which one type of infrastructure experiences a system failure that affects other types, or synchronized attacks that suspend more than one type of infrastructure at the same time.
The government is planning to study the results of the drill to determine problem areas. It will also join hands with companies that operate infrastructure to reinforce the system for handling system failures and other cyber-disruptions, so that the Games can operate as planned even if important infrastructure is under threat.
Major events like the Olympic and Paralympic Games are often the target of cyber-attacks. Host countries must therefore take necessary measures. The 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games and the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games suffered troubles such as the official site becoming inaccessible and system failures at certain facilities due to cyber-attacks.
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