5. Promoting Voluntary and Independent Action by Businesses

(1) Comprehensive Security Measures Conference

Dealing properly with cybercrime requires the use of advanced technology. In addition to police enforcement, we also need voluntary, independent action by businesses and other public-private partnerships. Therefore, the NPA hosts the Comprehensive Security Measures Conference to ensure the safety and reliability of telecommunications networks and studies the state of cooperation between the industries and the government on information security.

The Comprehensive Security Measures Conference has resulted in the proposal that started operation of the Internet Hotline Center, and, in June 2009, also prompted the start of the Council on the Prevention of the Spread of Child Pornography.

The theme of the 2010 conference was creating a safe, secure, and responsible cyber society. In it, participants discussed the following: 1) measures against unauthorized access, 2) measures against illegal and harmful information, and 3) training cybercrime prevention volunteers.

The following proposals were made for each point.

1) Measures against unauthorized access:

Prevention measures for phishing and SQL injection attacks, and building a support framework urging private businesses to independently upgrade their access control functions

2) Measures against illegal and harmful information:

Spurring more people to report to the Internet Hotline Center and arresting pernicious site administrators who ignore requests to delete illegal information

3) Training cybercrime prevention volunteers: Organizing training by developing guidelines

(2) Measures for Social Networking and Forum Sites

In 2010, 1,239 children were victims of crimes resulting from use of social networking sites and public forums. This is an increase of 103 over last year and the third increase in as many years. The NPA is therefore pushing forward with several measures. These measures include requests to the companies of social networking sites with high numbers of victimized children to construct sufficient systems scaled to its user base, including content checks for private messages.

## Column: Aiming for 100% Content Filtering

Use of content filtering for mobile phones is an effective means of preventing children from browsing information that is harmful to youths when going online via their mobile phones.

According to study results released by the Cabinet Office in February 2011, 77.6% of elementary school students, 67.1% of middle school students and 49.3% of high school students use content filters. Meanwhile, more than 90% of child victims of crimes on social networking sites in the first half of 2010 were not using content filters.

In cooperation with relevant ministries, the police are striving for a 100% usage rate for content filters to prevent children from falling victim to these crimes. In particular, sites selling and issuing contracts for mobile phones are seen as the front line in terms of urging phone users to use content filters. Police are therefore enhancing requests to businesses handling mobile phones, including phone distributors and retail electronics stores, to explain the importance of filtering content to parents and guardians where phones are bought and contracted, and to recommend