Japan held cyber defense drills with five Pacific island nations last month in a bid to strengthen itself cybersecurity defenses in the area.
The cybersecurity exercise event, held in Guam in mid-February, was the first for Japan. Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications led the event, which was attended by government officials and network providers from Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and Palau, with Fiji and Tonga on site as observers.
“When it comes to cybersecurity, Pacific island countries have been what I call a ‘soft underbelly,’ very vulnerable to cyber attacks,” said Hideyuki Shiozawa, senior program manager for Pacific island nations at Sasakawa Peace Foundation. Kyodo News, which reported the event.
“Hackers could attack government networks and crucial infrastructure in Japan and Taiwan, for example, through these countries,” he told the media. “Providing these countries with technical training and providing them with antivirus software and other cybersecurity tools will also reduce security risks elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific.”