METI: “JP-US-EU Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Week for the Indo-Pacific Region” was Held

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Industrial Cyber Security Center of Excellence (ICSCoE) under the Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA), in collaboration with the government of the United States (Department of Homeland Security/ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS/CISA), Department of State (DOS) and Department of Energy (DOE)) and the European Commission (Directorate-General for Communications, Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT)), hosted JP-US-EU Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Week (October 25-29, 2021, Online).
The hands-on training brought together 40 participants invited from the Indo-Pacific region* and trainees and graduates from the Core Human Resource Development Program provided by the ICSCoE under the IPA.


1. Outline of the event
METI and the ICSCoE hosted JP-US-EU Industrial Control Systems Cybersecurity Week in collaboration with the US government (DHS/CISA, DOS and DOE) as well as the European Commission (DG CONNECT) from October 25 to 29, 2021 (Online).

Cybersecurity measures are ineffective when implemented independently by a single organization or a single country. All-out efforts covering the entirety of supply chains are required. Therefore, in 2018 Japan, as a country whose supply chains are shared with the Indo-Pacific region, launched this annual ICS cybersecurity exercise under collaboration with the U.S. with the aims of enhancing the capacity to ensure cybersecurity for the region as a whole and reinforcing collaboration with respective countries. In 2021, the EU officially joined this event as one of the organizers.

This was the fourth annual ICS cybersecurity week arranged for participants from the Indo-Pacific region (OT/IT cybersecurity experts from critical infrastructure operators, cybersecurity experts from national CSIRTs (Computer Security Incident Response Team), and policy experts from relevant ministries/authorities). In addition, ICSCoE trainees, who have been taking a year-long industrial cybersecurity training ‘Core Human Resource Development Program’, and its graduates attended this exercise.

The one week program provided the participants with unique and valuable opportunities to remotely conduct hands-on training, to learn through cybersecurity related seminars including electricity sector, process automation, policy and standardization, and supply chain risk management, as well as workshops regarding risk assessment and human resource development from various experts from Japan, the U.S. and the EU, and to share respective experiences and views with other participants.

The program also contributed to establishing a common understanding on ICS cybersecurity and strengthening relationships between the Indo-Pacific region and Japan, the U.S. and the EU that will become a foundation for further international cooperation to jointly address the growing cybersecurity threats.

Under the vision of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” METI and the ICSCoE will serve as the hub of the world’s top cybersecurity measures based on aggregated knowledge on OT and IT, and will continuously endeavor to enhance the cybersecurity capacity of the whole region, in particular reinforcing measures for critical infrastructure. This is to be carried out with the collaboration of the U.S., the EU and countries and regions in the Indo-Pacific region, to develop high quality infrastructure and create free, fair and safe cyberspaces in this region.