Government Panel Offers Proposals To Prevent Tech Leaks; Suggests Limiting Number Of Employees With Sensitive Knowledge

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, June 6, 2024

In a bid to prevent leaks, a government panel of experts on Tuesday called for companies and other entities to limit access to key technologies in development with government support.

The expert panel on economic security legislation, chaired by Keio University Prof. Setsuko Aoki, presented a number of measures that companies and other entities should take to prevent tech leaks.

The panel’s proposals referred to the arrest last year of a researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, a national research and development organization, on suspicion of violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Law by leaking research data to a Chinese company.

The panel noted recent leaks of trade secrets held by companies and other entities. “As the economic field is rapidly becoming linked to national security, proper management of important technologies by the government is an urgent matter,” it stressed.

The panel also suggested measures for companies and other groups to implement, such as limiting access to technologies and checking if employees are in contact with anyone suspicious or are taking out large amounts of data.

For research mainly performed at universities, in areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology and semiconductors, the panel urged ministries that provide financial support to consider measures to prevent technology leakage.

The panel also called for the thorough screening of researchers from other countries, with proposals to work with relevant government organizations, including investigative and public security authorities and law enforcement bodies, to further strengthen border controls.

The government plans to compile a list of concrete measures based on the proposals.