Initial Disclosure Date: Mar 24, 2014

Between 1300 and 1700 JST on March 18, 2014, the Government Security Operation Coordination (GSOC) team under Japan’s National Information Security Center, all the 21 ministries and agencies, and critical infrastructure companies held a large scale-cyber exercise called “3.18 (cyber) training.” Approximately 100 people participated from the government and industry such as airlines, electronic power, finance, gas, water supply, and railway. This exercise aims to enhance Japan’s cyber capability prior to the Tokyo Olympic games in 2020. This was the first exercise which all the ministries and agencies participated in and the Japanese government plans to make this annual on March 18 or 318, which can read in Japanese “saiba” or “cyber.”^(footnote:1)

This exercise had two focuses. First, the GSOC, all the ministries and agencies, and critical infrastructure companies tested their capability to gather and share information after realizing an incident. Second, the Cyber Incident Mobile Assistant Team or CYMAT members tested their capability to analyze malware and restore affected systems. The team was established under the NISC in June 2012. The CYMAT consists of officials from different ministries and agencies to overcome stovepipe bureaucracy and cooperate together to respond to cyber-attacks. The total number of the members would reach 40 in the end.^(footnote:2)

The exercise started with an incident that a government official noticed an unfamiliar window showed up instead of his or her ministry or agency’s website which he or she had attempted to browse. The official reported the incident to the information security team of the organization and, then, the organization called the GSOC. The GSOC released a warning to each ministry and agency and they shared the information with relevant critical infrastructure companies. CYMAT members analyzed malware-infected PCs and logs, and wrote reports and press releases.^(footnote:3)

Sources:

1. NISC, “Zenhushocho to no sanka ni yoru daikibona seihu saiba kogeki taisho kunren wo hatsu jisshi  [3.18 kunren] [The Japanese government conducted a large scale-cyber exercise with all the ministries and agencies for the first time on March 18],” March 18, 2014,
   http://www.nisc.go.jp/active/kihon/pdf/318.pdf
   Yomiuri Shimbun, “Saiba kogeki higai husege… zen chuo shocho sanka shi hatsu enshu [All the ministries and agencies held a cyber exercise for the first time together to minimize damages by cyber-attacks],” March 18, 2014,
   http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/news/20140318-OYT1T00756.htm
   ytv Yomiuri TV news, “zen shocho ga sanka saiba kogeki heno taisho kunren [all the ministries and agencies participated in a cyber exercise to learn about how to deal with cyber-attacks],” March 18, 2014,
   http://www.ytv.co.jp/press/politics/TI20135995.html
   Yukihiro Katsumura, “Seihu ga saiba kogeki no daikibo kunren, zen hushocho 100 nin sanka [The Japanese government held a large scale-cyber exercise in which 100 people from all the ministries and agencies participated],” Nikkei Computer, March 19, 2014,
   http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK1802L_Y4A310C1000000/
   http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK1802L_Y4A310C1000000/?df=2
   Tim Kelly and Nobuhiro Kubo, “UPDATE 1  Japan holds first broad cybersecurity drill, frets over Olympics risks,” Reuters, March 18, 2014,
   http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/18/japan-cybercrime-idUSL3N0MF1Z920140318
2. Yukihiro Katsumura, “Seihu ga saiba kogeki no daikibo kunren, zen hushocho 100 nin sanka [The Japanese government held a large scale-cyber exercise in which 100 people from all the ministries and agencies participated],” Nikkei Computer, March 19, 2014,
   http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK1802L_Y4A310C1000000/
   http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK1802L_Y4A310C1000000/?df=2
   Koji Yoshizawa, “HUshocho no kabe wo koete saiba kogeki ni taio suru kinkyu shien chimu ‘CYMAT’ kessei (NISC) [the NISC launched CYMAT to overcome stovepipe bureaucracy and respond to cyber-attacks in a timely manner],” Scan NetSecurity, July 2, 2012,
   http://scan.netsecurity.ne.jp/article/2012/07/02/29382.html
3. Yukihiro Katsumura, “Seihu ga saiba kogeki no daikibo kunren, zen hushocho 100 nin sanka [The Japanese government held a large scale-cyber exercise in which 100 people from all the ministries and agencies participated],” Nikkei Computer, March 19, 2014,
   http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK1802L_Y4A310C1000000/
   http://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXNASFK1802L_Y4A310C1000000/?df=2

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