Google opened a new cybersecurity hub in Japan on Thursday, with the goal of assisting in the improvement of Asia-Pacific defences.
According to governments and security organizations, the region is facing an increasing cyber threat from a variety of players, including criminal gangs seeking large payments and state-backed entities pursuing intelligence or sabotage.
These attackers have attacked not only governments and militaries, but also key infrastructure, including ports and enterprises of all sizes.
“We are officially launching the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in Japan, aiming to connect leading security specialists, researchers, and partners,” the company stated in a statement.
The center will perform cybersecurity research in partnership with Japanese and regional universities and governments.
According to Google’s Kazuya Okubo, the tech giant will also assist 300,000 small to medium-sized enterprises, non-profits, and other social organisations in the region in improving their cybersecurity.
In October, Google warned that the region “is the target of more cyberattacks than any other”.
Governments, particularly Japan, have echoed these worries.
In addition to large-scale fraud and ransomware activity by criminal groups, the US and its regional allies, particularly Australia, blame China and Beijing-linked groups for cyberattacks.
In September of last year, Japan’s National Police Agency joined its American colleagues, including the FBI, in warning of extensive malware attacks by China-linked cyber hackers known as BlackTech.
According to a joint statement from the NPA, BlackTech has “targeted the government, industrial, technology, media, electronics, and telecommunication sectors, including entities that support the militaries of the US and Japan.”
Washington claims that China poses “the broadest, most active, and persistent cyber espionage threat” to its government and business sector.
Beijing, for its turn, accuses the US of being the “world’s biggest hacking empire,” citing its well-documented involvement in cyberwarfare, online surveillance, and hacking.