Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in Cyber Security in Japan, 2020

Of late, cyber space has been driving socio-economic activities, as a fall-out of the unification of cyber space and real space including entire industries, especially manufacturing industries, which is termed Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

The vast amount of data produced by sensors and devices every second from all over the world is being stored and analyzed in cyber space globally. In addition, real-time delivery of new products and services that use data to provide added value is evolving in a number of domains. In such circumstances, cyber space and real space can no longer be considered separately.

Modern operations spread across complex information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) infrastructures. These include several devices connected via IIoT. This leads to new challenges in protecting the industrial environment. To protect this complex attack surface, many industrial organizations are trying to integrate IT and OT operations.

In a race for more efficient operation, industrial control systems (ICS) running on legacy hardware are integrated with software and smart devices. As the chances of servers, controllers, surveillance equipment, and sensors connecting to the Internet increase, the scope for cyber attacks expands.

A new cyber security solution framework is required for this kind of combined new space and the coming digital age, due to this massive expansion of data from major socio-economic activities, the including IIoT ecosystem. The amount of data generated from IIoT has increased enormously, and the importance of data and the need for security measures have become urgent issues.

From this combined new space expansion, the risk of economic and social loss or damage in the real space is expected to accelerate very much from the opportunity for malicious activities in cyber space. As a result, it is necessary to secure the IIoT environment, which has grown to be the basis of today's economic society, and to achieve sustainable secured development. It is also necessary to secure autonomous evolution and development, and tackle security issues. It requires a cross-cutting and agile approach.

This study is describes the IIoT ecosystem in 6 layers: devices, LAN, servers, outside network, cloud, and edge/ and gateway. The characteristics of the Japanese market are examined from the aspects of political, technological, economic, legal, and socio-cultural points of view.

The content proposes growth opportunities in the expanding combined real and cyber space from IIoT and cyber security point of view in Japan.