U.S. research firm Gartner issued an emergency recommendation calling on Japanese companies to make digital defense their top priority amid a sharp increase in unauthorized access. It outlined specific measures, including an urgent inspection of publicly exposed assets and thorough vulnerability mitigation.
In response to a series of unauthorized access incidents and personal information leaks affecting Japanese companies, Gartner called for prompt inspections of IT environments and recommended that management position digital defense as one of its top priorities. It expects the use of AI in attacks to become standard in the future and pointed out that attacks could be carried out in less time than before.
Measures companies should implement immediately include urgently inspecting internet-facing assets and software for vulnerabilities, and checking for signs of unusual access or large-scale data retrieval. Gartner also highlighted the need to develop a medium- to long-term roadmap, rather than merely outsourcing vulnerability assessments.
In September, a series of unauthorized access incidents and information leaks occurred at Japanese companies including Park24 and 物語コーポレーション. A July survey found that only 30% of major companies were adequately managing vulnerabilities.
The recommendations set out specific measures to strengthen digital defense while emphasizing the need to reinforce security frameworks in the era of AI.