Initial Disclosure Date: Aug 7, 2013

On July 12, the Japanese Ministry of Defense held an opening ceremony to launch the Cyber Defense Council (CDC), which is the first public-private partnership between the MOD, Self-Defense Forces (SDF), and defense industry. The council aims: 1) to be mutually beneficial to enhance cyber defense; 2) to maintain the functionality and capability of the industry and enhance the recovery capability; 3) to build confidence between the ministry and industry. According to the Sankei Shimbun, eleven companies that work with the MOD came to the ceremony. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera stated, “A cyber-attack on either the government or the industry could impact both of us. The Ministry of Defense and defense industry should closely work together to counter the threat as one team.” ^(footnote:1)

According to the MOD, the core members of the CDC are about ten companies that are interested in cybersecurity. Yet, their names have not been released to the public as of today. The ministry explains it is because the MOD and SDF need to 1) make sure that the industry would find it comfortable to cooperate; 2) ensure frank discussions and information-sharing; and 3) avoid any negative influences to the business operations of the member companies.

The MOD and defense industry will work on the following points to increase their cyber defense. Their first priority would be given to the first and second.

1) The MOD, SDF, and defense industry share information and enhance collaboration to mitigate cyber threat including APT
2) The MOD serves as a hub to enable companies to share sensitive information on APT, which they usually do not exchange directly
3) The MOD, SDF, and defense industry share their best practice to mitigate cyber threat tailored to target them
4) They MOD, SDF, and defense industry conduct joint exercises to improve their cyber defense
5) The MOD, SDF, and defense industry establish an ideal partnership between them, taking U.S. cases into consideration

Sources:

1. Sankei Shimbun, “Saiba kogeki de kanmin kyogi-kai Boei-sho, kyodo kunren mo kento [The Ministry of Defense launched a public-private partnership to share information regarding cyber-attacks and would conduct joint exercises],” July 12, 2013,
   http://sankei.jp.msn.com/politics/news/130712/plc13071220560009-n1.htm

• The Ministry of Defense, “Cyber Defense Council (CDC) no secchi torikumi nit suite [The establishment and purposes of the Cyber Defense Council (CDC)],” July 2013,
  http://www.mod.go.jp/j/approach/others/security/cyber_defense_council.pdf

※ Each company name, an organization name, and a brand name are a trade name of each company and each organization, or a registered trademark.