- Cyber Resilience
- June 10, 2025
Integrating a Strategic CTI Function in Japan
Insights for Financial Institutions, Manufacturing, and Critical Infrastructure Leaders
A Strategic Approach to Integrating CTI in Japanese Enterprises
As cyber threats continue to evolve, leaders in finance, manufacturing, and critical infrastructure must take a strategic approach to security. Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) plays a crucial role in risk mitigation, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience.
However, integrating an effective CTI capability into existing security operations presents unique challenges, especially when navigating resource constraints and Japan’s evolving regulatory environment.
At Nihon Cyber Defence (NCD), we work closely with organisations to strengthen cyber resilience. Based on our experience, we outline the key considerations for integrating CTI effectively and addressing common obstacles.
The Role of CTI in Business Resilience
CTI is an essential part of security maturity and business continuity.
CTI enables:
- Threat identification – Enabling proactive response to cyber risks.
- Reputation protection – Safeguarding brands from fraud and digital threats.
- Regulatory compliance – Supporting adherence to cyber security regulations.
- Sovereign intelligence – Ensuring Japan-centric threat intelligence that aligns with national security interests.
Japan’s Cyber Threat Landscape
Japan’s cyber threats are at an all-time high at 686.2 billion cyber attack-related network packets in 2024 (11% YoY increase).
Japan has experienced notable cyber attacks targeting its airlines, financial institutions, and critical infrastructure in recent years.
- MUFG Bank (Late 2024 – Early 2025): Attacks disrupted online banking services, raising concerns over financial infrastructure vulnerabilities
- Japan Airlines (December 2024): DDoS attack delayed 24 domestic flights
- DDoS Attacks on Critical Sectors (2024): Russian-affiliated groups targeted logistics, shipbuilding, and political sectors
- MirrorFace Cyber Espionage (Ongoing since 2019): China-affiliated group ransacking Japanese government, corporate, and academic institutions
Five Key Challenges in Integrating an Internal CTI Function
1. Talent Shortages
Japan faces a significant cyber security workforce deficit, making it difficult to source in-house talent with deep CTI expertise.
Approach: Organisations can upskill existing staff and leverage trusted external CTI partners to augment capabilities.
2. Managing Intelligence Effectively
Security teams often face an overload of data but lack structured frameworks to generate actionable intelligence.
Approach: Implementing Threat Intelligence Platforms (TIPs) and Collection Management Frameworks (CMFs) helps streamline intelligence and improve response.
3. Operational Integration
CTI insights must be integrated into day-to-day security operations. Without alignment across SOCs, fraud teams, and risk management, intelligence is underutilised.
Approach: Defining clear intelligence requirements and fostering cross-department collaboration ensures CTI supports strategic decision-making and response.
4. Budget Constraints and ROI Justification
Building a dedicated internal CTI function is resource-intensive and often requires significant investment in skilled personnel, intelligence feeds, and investigative tools.
Approach: Many organisations optimise budgets by adopting a hybrid model: integrating CTI into existing security functions while supplementing with external expertise to manage costs effectively and scale flexibly.
5. Regulatory, Sovereignty, and Ethical Considerations
CTI activities must follow Japan’s Act on Protection of Personal Information (APPI) and support national security priorities. Over-reliance on foreign intelligence sources may pose sovereignty risks.
Approach: Working with Japan-based intelligence providers helps ensure compliance, protect data sovereignty, and align with national interests.
Learn how Japan’s ACD policy shapes CTI requirements and compliance needs.
Why Japanese Enterprises Partner with Local CTI Providers
Many organisations receive help from a hybrid strategy, keeping in-house intelligence capabilities for core functions while working with external providers for specialised intelligence, dark web monitoring, and geopolitical risk assessment.
Rather than building standalone CTI teams, many organisations choose to integrate CTI capabilities through partnerships with Japan-based providers like Nihon Cyber Defence. This approach accelerates time to value, improves regulatory alignment, and reduces operational burden.
See how we’re enhancing CTI capabilities through partnerships.
Strengthening Cyber Resilience: Leadership Considerations
As cyber risks grow in scale and complexity, leadership must ensure that security strategies are intelligence-led and adaptable.
Key questions for executives:
- Are we effectively integrating CTI into our existing security operations?
- Are we using intelligence to proactively mitigate business risks?
- Are our intelligence sources aligned with Japan’s national security priorities?
- Could partnering with an external CTI provider improve both security outcomes and cost efficiency?
At Nihon Cyber Defence, we support organisations in developing structured, intelligence-led security strategies that align with business goals and regulatory requirements.
Whether strengthening an internal team or adopting a hybrid approach, we provide Japan-focused CTI expertise that enhances resilience and protects sovereignty.
We welcome discussions on how Nihon Cyber Defence can support your CTI integration and overall cyber security strategy. Contact Us.
Chief Threat Intelligence Officer @ Nihon Cyber Defence
With over 20 years of security expertise as an engineer and consultant, Terashita leads a specialized team analysing global cyber threats.
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