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TOKYO, WASHINGTON and QUANTICO, Va. – Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) industrial security professionals collaborating with their Japanese counterparts at home and abroad, directly impacted the inaugural publication of Japan’s Defense Industrial Security Manual (DISM), leading to its membership in the Multinational Industrial Security Working Group (MISWG).
As the first Asian nation to become a member of the MISWG – Japan joined Australia, Austria, Israel, Switzerland and NATO member nations in the non-governmental organization that develops common security procedures for the protection of classified information shared under non-NATO Multinational Defense Programs and international industrial security matters.
“Japan did this – it’s all of their effort, and we appreciated the opportunity to advise, assist and share our security practices on the industrial security side to help inform their industrial security policy. The publication of the Defense Industrial Security Manual is really a cornerstone that set the stage for Japan’s security program moving forward,” said Jennifer Skelton, Technology Security and Foreign Disclosure Division deputy chief at the Defense Technology Security Administration (DTSA). “The DISM is really critical and postured Japan well for their MISWG membership given the stringent criteria to become a MISWG member.”
As the government’s experts in international information sharing, information security and technology security, safeguarding the U.S. technological edge while enhancing foreign partners’ capabilities, DTSA is the U.S. government lead for the Bilateral Information Security Consultations (BISC).
This includes consultations with Japan regarding its industrial security program. Skelton and Scott Nelson, deputy assistant director for the DTSA International Engagement Division, needed the highest level of industrial security expertise for this BISC line of effort and knew who to contact for support: DCSA’s Industrial Security Directorate headquartered in Quantico, Va.
DCSA industrial security experts immediately responded to the DTSA request for assistance, engaging as advisors in support of Japan’s efforts to meet substantial equivalency with the U.S. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) and the strict MISWG criteria.
The NISP ensures that cleared U.S. defense industry, more than 12,500 facilities, protects classified information in their possession while working on contracts, programs, bids or research and development efforts.
The BISC – formed as a result of a 2009 U.S.-Japan summit meeting – launched a series of consultations to strengthen security cooperation, including information security that deepens the U.S.-Japan Alliance. The BISC fosters a government-to-government dialogue on information security essential to fully enabling the 2007 U.S.-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), which governs the reciprocal protection of classified information.
This continual dialogue includes collaborative BISC engagements impacting Japan’s national security in the wake of its MISWG membership in May 2023 and official visits between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden. The latest meeting, held at the White House on April 10, 2024, celebrated a new era of U.S.-Japan strategic cooperation.
“We continue to deepen our cooperation on information and cyber security to ensure that our alliance stays ahead of growing cyber threats and builds resilience in the information and communication technology domain,” Biden and Kishida announced in their joint statement. “We also plan on enhancing our cooperation on the protection of critical infrastructure.”
DCSA industrial security professionals Dan Finucane and Monica Son recalled the March 2023 DTSA request to support the U.S.-Japan BISC third line of effort focused on cooperation in the industrial security domain, which comprises technology, information, cyber, personnel and physical security. Japan’s industrial security leaders completed a draft of their DISM – similar to the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (NISPOM) – and just finished translating it from Japanese to English.
At that point, three of the agency’s senior industrial security subject matter experts – Son, Finucane and Kevin Williamson – engaged in a new BISC mission: Review Japan’s DISM and collaborate with its authors via virtual meetings and correspondence while providing feedback and advice based on years of industrial security experience, expertise and knowledge.
“We had a finite amount of time to review Japan's industrial security plan of actions and milestones as well as their Defense Industrial Security Manual,” said Son in reference to the government of Japan’s anticipated release date three months later. “Recognizing the importance of the BISC and its potential long-term impact on expanding defense technology cooperation between the United States and Japan, our team ensured this effort remained as a high priority until its completion.”
Finucane, DCSA Industrial Security Field Office chief in the Mid-Atlantic Region, and Son, a senior industrial security representative based in the agency’s Western Region were also preparing for two trips to Japan for in-person consultations related to the DISM and its implementation during visits to Japan’s cleared defense contractors.
However, the review, consultation and collaboration process on Japan’s DISM needed to be completed first.
“Our goal was to gain an acceptable level of understanding of the Japanese industrial security program and their systems of checks and balances in order to sufficiently provide our comments and recommendations back to Japan in a timely manner,” said Son. “It was evident our foreign partner was extremely committed to ensuring the DISM was as comprehensive and comparable to the NISPOM as possible based on how responsive and receptive they were to our feedback. The intent throughout our collaborations was to standardize and ensure substantially equivalent information security practices between the United States and Japan.”
Now that the virtual consultations were complete, the duo traveled to Tokyo in August 2023, coinciding with Japan’s admittance to MISWG and its publication of the DISM.
Meanwhile, Hideki Tsuchimoto – Japanese Ministry of Defense (JMOD) commissioner of the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency (ATLA) – released his statement, introducing the DISM publication.
“ATLA has now formulated the Defense Industrial Security Manual, which is equivalent to the industrial security programs and operation manuals of other countries,” said Tsuchimoto. “The DISM is a document which unifies information protection measures implemented in the defense industry based on laws, regulations, rules etc. concerning the protection of classified information that applies to the defense industry. ATLA will distribute the DISM to the defense industries in Japan and share it with the governments and defense industries of the ally and like-minded countries to strengthen defense production and technology bases, including international equipment and technology cooperation.”
Moreover, the ATLA website described its DISM as a publication that “unifies information security measures based on laws and regulations in order to increase transparency and reliability of Japan’s defense industrial security as well as to contribute to defense equipment and technology cooperation.”
Tsuchimoto’s team of industrial security officials welcomed the U.S. delegation to Japan as the DISM was distributed to the nation’s defense industries.
Specifically, the U.S. contingent comprised representatives from DTSA, DCSA and the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (JPO). The F-35 JPO leads the life-cycle program management of the F-35A, F-35B, and F-35C: the fifth-generation joint strike fighter air system of choice for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, international partners and foreign military sales customers.
U.S. Embassy personnel from the Mutual Defense Assistance Office (MDAO) also attended various meetings and site visits throughout the two trips. The agenda included a tour, briefings and a security review with discussions at Japanese defense contractor facilities.
“The DISM’s implementation and the broader concept of substantial equivalency with U.S. industrial security and the NISPOM was our focus,” said Finucane. “We saw exactly how industrial security was implemented at cleared contractor facilities in and around Tokyo and we observed several examples of substantial equivalency first-hand. Japan’s industrial security program, in many aspects, is very similar to the U.S. program. We also saw how the DISM was received, viewed and implemented by those Japanese companies.”
The DCSA team walked throughout defense contractor facilities and plants while observing and engaging with Japanese corporate officials and employees, asking questions and sharing best practices.
“It was really impressive, and, in some ways, it seemed that we were conducting security reviews of U.S. cleared contractors in the NISP,” said Finucane. “We received very detailed briefings from each company about their security practices and procedures. It was an excellent chance to observe and view Japanese industry and focus on industrial security and how it's been implemented. There were certain areas that were absolutely beyond substantial equivalency. In fact, we found some best practices that we would certainly take back to our industry.”
Finucane continued describing his experience touring seven Japanese cleared defense contractors during visits in August 2023 and February 2024.
“We were pleased to find really strong practices in the physical security lane of industrial security and documentation was very strong,” he said. “As we go through the BISC industrial security line of effort in concert with DTSA, I’m really optimistic that that we're going to keep finding more and more substantial equivalency and being able to move toward saying that overall – Japan has met that mark for industrial security.”
As the industrial security line of effort comes to a close, the U.S. and Japan are planning to engage in efforts to enhance Japan’s security education and training program for their security workforce. DCSA Center for Development of Security Excellence representatives will provide information to Japan’s training professionals related to security education, training and professionalization for DOD and industry under the NISP.
“Over the past five years – through BISC, GSOMIA and our relationship - there has been so much growth benefiting Japanese defense programs as well as U.S. defense programs and cleared industry supporting our national security efforts as well as their own,” said Richard Stahl, DCSA International and Special Programs chief. “The amount of work accomplished has been tremendous and due to the efforts of our personnel visiting Japan but more importantly, due to the effort and seriousness in the Japanese development, enhancement and implementation of its personnel and industrial security programs.”
The last five years Stahl refers to involves DTSA’s second line of effort under BISC. It comprises bilateral efforts that began in September 2019 as DCSA Personnel Security leaders advised and assisted Japan with its security clearance background investigation and adjudications programs. This second line of effort, which concluded in 2024, ensured that Japan’s access to sensitive U.S. government information meets U.S. information security and personnel security standards. The same is true of U.S. access to Japan’s sensitive government information. This substantial equivalency is crucial to ensuring that information shared between the U.S. and Japan remains secure.
In all, U.S.-Japan BISC collaboration centers on the following five lines of effort aimed at strengthening information security practices between the two nations.
• Designating a National Security Authority for Japan – first line of effort concluded in 2020.
• Background Investigations/Security clearances – second line of effort closed in 2024.
• Industrial Security – on-going. Milestone accomplishments include Japan’s publication of their DISM and MISWG membership.
• Security Professionalization – DCSA looks forward to assisting Japan’s efforts to strengthen its security education and training program for its security workforce.
• Classified Information in Courts – the Department of Justice is the lead for this future bilateral effort, centered on how classified information should be handled during the course of investigations and in the Japanese court systems.
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.01.2024 09:47 |
| Story ID: | 475267 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 362 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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