‘Decoys’ To Reinforce Japan’s Defenses Against Cyber-attacks
Japan’s Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry has decided to create decoy computer systems to combat cyber-attacks
The decoy systems would resemble actual systems used by the government and well-known companies, and be used to attract computer viruses so the government can observe and analyse their routes of infection and other characteristics.
If a new cyber-attack’s traits can be understood quickly, it could help in the creation of protective measures.
The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, which the ministry oversees, plans to start building such systems in earnest in fiscal 2018 so they can be operational as soon as possible.
Cyber-attacks often use methods such as email to infect the systems of companies and other entities with a virus. Once inside, the virus can spread, enabling the attacker to steal information or control the system remotely. Yet how viruses function once inside a system and continue to spread is often not well understood.
To prevent a virus from spreading, its method of attack, route of infection and other characteristics need to be identified quickly to come up with countermeasures. However, companies that are damaged by cyber-attacks are often unwilling to share information externally, which means the infection may spread to other entities without countermeasures being taken.
This latest plan would involve creating a cyber-space that closely resembles a corporate system. Once a virus is lured in, its actions would be observed, and this information would be shared among companies involved in fighting cyber-attacks, to create ways of preventing or containing infections.
The ministry is keen to get these decoy systems operating quickly, so it will include ¥200 million for this purpose in its requests for the fiscal 2018 budget. The funds would be used to develop systems and other tools to share the results of the observations and analyses among related companies.
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