Japan's METI and US DHS Signed a MOC on Cybersecurity, Including Enhancement the Security of Industrial Control Systems

On January 6, Mr. Nishimura Yasutoshi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and H.E. Mr. Alejandro Mayorkas, the United States Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), signed and exchanged a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Cybersecurity, while they held a meeting in Washington D.C., the United States.

This MOC is signed between METI and DHS to further strengthen the cooperation with the United States in the fields under the jurisdiction of METI with taking into account of the establishment a new organization to centrally and comprehensively coordinate policies in the area of cyber security described in “National Security Strategy”, which was decided in December 2022.

In order to respond to sophisticated and ever-increasing cyberattacks, METI and DHS will cooperate on cybersecurity in the following areas with cooperation of related organizations:

• Operational Collaboration
• Enhancement the security of industrial control systems
• Cooperation for capacity building, especially for the Indo-Pacific Region
• Dialogs toward the harmonization of regulations and schemes.