### 3. Government initiatives

## (1) Strategic Headquarters initiatives

On personal data treatment, the Declaration towards Creating a World-leading IT Nation, adopted by the Strategic Headquarters for the Promotion of an Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society in June 2013, states (1) that business environments should be developed to harmonize the utilization of personal data with the protection of personal information and privacy to facilitate the utilization, (2) that Japan should use the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and other international negotiations and promote international cooperation, as the standardization of rules on privacy and information security, the improvement of convenience through the creation of international mechanisms and the smooth cross-border transfer of information are important for business environment development, and (3) that the diffusion of personal data utilization should be promoted in Smartphone and other areas where rules for handling user information have already been created.

The declaration also urges the Strategic Headquarters to promptly create a new panel to specify rules for utilizing personal data while giving consideration to the protection of personal information and privacy and to launch initiatives as early as possible within 2013 to revise personal information protection guidelines and standardize procedures for obtaining consent for the utilization. Another new panel is planned to develop guidelines (including a roadmap) within the year for institutional reforms including the creation of third-party organizations and new legal measures.

From 2014 on, the government will develop personal data utilization environments in line with the roadmap in the institutional reform guidelines to promote the utilization, while giving considerations to international cooperation, according to the declaration.

## (2) MIC initiatives -- Creating personal data utilization and distribution panel

In November 2012, the MIC initiated a panel on the utilization and distribution of personal data. Its report proposed a framework for the utilization of personal data and policies for its realization to specify personal data utilization rules for promoting the appropriate utilization and distribution of personal data.

## Section 2 Information security and safe, secure information utilization

### 1. Cyber attacks growing more sophisticated and complicated

## (1) Trend of threats to information security

At present, the malware types registered in databases at information security vendors are rapidly increasing, while external attacks including malware infection and hacking are accounting for a high share of causes of information leakage and infringement incidents. In this way, threats to information security around us are growing more serious. Recent cyber attacks have ranged wide, targeting from state secrets to personal information and money. The time has come for individuals as well as government agencies and enterprises to take more information security measures.

### 2. Information users' consciousness of information security

(1) Experiences of information security damage and insecurity during Internet use

Questioned whether they incurred information security damage during their Internet use, those answering that they were sure or had evidence of damage and those answering that they saw the possibility of having

Figure 3-2-2-1 Experiences of information security damage and insecurity during Internet use

(Source) MIC "Survey Research on New Challenges for Advancement of ICT Infrastructure and Services" (2013)