Japan sets up a new Tokyo based agency to fight crypto theft. The center will include 500 analysts and investigators to combat this type of crime, Kyodo reports. The decision follows a recent crypto theft from Coincheck – when hackers stole $530 million of digital money from the Tokyo-based exchange.
In 2017 there were over 3 million crypto theft attempts. Over 17 billion Japanese yen ($ 0.16 bln) were stolen by hackers, including crypto currency worth $6.3 million. Most hackers targeted unprotected crypto wallets.
The new law enforcement agency is aimed at dealing with such cases. Over 500 analysts and investigators have been picked out from different Japanese security and intelligence services to work at this agency. Authorities in Tokyo hope it will help address the crypto thefts in a more efficient way.
Apart from that, Japan in partnership with ASEAN is launching a new Cybersecurity Capacity Building Center which will be based in Thailand. The Center is expected to play the key role in mitigating cybercrime in ASEAN. It should train at least 700 cybersecurity personnel in the region in four years. The start of the project is planned for June 2018.
Dr. Pichet Durongkaveroj, the Head of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society of Thailand, said, “While Japan is preparing for financial capital, Thailand is proceeding with the approval of project detail that is under review by ASEAN and Japan. In the meantime, Thailand is getting the people, process, and location ready to take immediate action upon approval of the budget. This includes action plan, course curriculum, and other logistics.”
Cybersecurity is a key area of interest for ASEAN, said Singapore’s Foreign Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Singapore is the chair of ASEAN in 2018. At the 2nd ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cybersecurity on 18 September 2017 it was announced that Singapore will give $1.5 mln (1.14 mln US dollars) to build technical capability among incident responders and operators in the ASEAN region.
By Emiliya Dieniezhna