The cost of attack keeps falling
Generative AI makes it possible to produce fluent phishing messages and convincing fake interfaces quickly and at scale. Attacks that once took skill and effort can now be launched against more targets for less money. As the attacker’s costs fall, the defender’s burden keeps rising.
The whole supply chain is the attack surface
Japanese industry is organized around large companies connected to many suppliers and partners. The least-defended organization becomes the way in, and damage spreads through business relationships. No single company can secure the whole by itself.
The gap between management and technology
Security investment is a management decision. Yet leadership teams that can translate technical risk into business risk — and prioritize accordingly — are still too rare. Where engineers are treated as implementers of instructions rather than experts at the decision table, the risks the front line can see rarely reach the board.
Rethinking what we protect
Most defenses have focused on keeping intruders out and protecting the login. That remains essential. But if we accept that intrusions and data leaks cannot be eliminated entirely, the asset to protect lies further in: confirming that critical actions — transfers, account changes, privilege grants — genuinely reflect the holder’s intent. That is where we believe the next focus of defense belongs.
This article reflects the author’s views and does not guarantee the effect of any specific product.