Major electronics firms bombarded with cyberdefense inquiries

With a growing number of Japanese firms falling prey to unauthorized computer system breaches, major electronics makers are facing a flurry of inquiries about their cyberdefense services.

The demand is expected to continue growing as these companies expand their service offerings to counter increasingly sophisticated, AI-driven cyberattacks.

“We are receiving more and more requests for consultations about how to ensure business continuity in the event of cyberattacks, from client companies responsible for critical infrastructure, such as power suppliers, transport service providers, manufacturers and financial service firms,” Kanako Gushi, senior consultant at Hitachi, said.

Last month, the company started providing a comprehensive service that supports operations such as monitoring and detecting cyberattack risks and restoring affected systems, leveraging state-of-the-art AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic in the United States.

The Hitachi service’s strength lies in using AI for cyberattack simulations and helping affected companies restore their systems without suspending operations. “We will work with our clients to support resilience (of their systems),” Gushi stressed.

Fujitsu has received a spate of inquiries from client firms since it announced a cyberdefense strategy in late August. The number of inquiries “increased further” in the past few days, a public relations official said.

On Oct. 1, Fujitsu established a cyberdefense-focused division with about 100 employees. The company expects the unit to expand beyond responding to system shutdowns and eventually provide advice on cybersecurity investments.

NEC late last month launched a service in which AI automatically analyzes risks and draws up response policies, targeting financial institutions, manufacturers and distribution companies.

The spread of online services has substantially increased the amounts of personal data held by corporations, leading to rises in damage from cyberattacks.

A Fujitsu official expressed a sense of caution, saying, “It has become possible for perpetrators to quickly search for system vulnerabilities and carry out cyberattacks on a wide scale as AI becomes more intelligent.”