Why do Japanese officials lose sensitive data drunk?

Why do Japanese officials lose sensitive data drunk?

nights of celebration often end badly, especially for government employees in Japan. In recent years it has already occurred several times that sensitive personal data has been lost after a few beer. Such an incident recently occurred in Yokohama, where an employee of the Ministry of Finance ended with a colleague after work. According to the Public broadcast NHK had consumed nine beer within five hours. It was only when he left the restaurant, climbed into the subway and drove home, did he notice that his bag was missing with highly sensitive information.

The loss of sensitive data

The Ministry of Finance announced this security violation this week and confirmed to CNN that the bag contained administrative documents with the names, addresses and case summary of 187 people, including a suspect that is allegedly involved in drug trafficking. The employee had received the documents at a meeting on the same day. There was also a laptop of service in his pocket that contained personal information about him and his colleagues.

The ministry publicly apologized for loss of trust and promised to take the employee responsible. So far there are reports that indicate misuse of the lost information.

a pattern of security incidents

This incident is not the first of its kind. In 2022 another government employee lost a USB-stick Personal data of all residents of the city of Amagasaki, which is located northwest of Osaka. The employee fell asleep on the street after an evening in the restaurant, and when he woke up, his bag had disappeared with the stick. The USB stick contained the names, birth dates and addresses of 465,177 people-the entire population of the city-as well as sensitive information such as tax details and bank details of households that receive public support.

drinking culture and technological backwardness

These two incidents are particularly embarrassing, but a deeply rooted drinking culture is reflected in Japan, which is often associated with work culture. It is not uncommon for groups of employees to drink beer in izakaya bars until late at night or collapse on the street after excessive alcohol enjoyment. The Japanese Ministry of Health warned of the dangers of excessive drinking in 2021 and described it as a "big social problem".

Marathon drinking events promote business relationships with colleagues and customers and are often decisive for contracts and for making relationships in the work environment. However, this culture of alcohol is also a symptom for brutal working conditions in Japan, where employees traditionally work brutal working hours under immense pressure and accept stagnating salaries.

outdated technologies and bureaucracy

Although the Japanese government is trying to reduce the pressure-among other things by laws to prevent Revision and the introduction of a four-tage wocht for government agencies in Tokio-is It is difficult to take old habits. This drinking culture and the outdated preference for analog technologies mean that sensitive data can be lost more easily.

The bureaucratic systems in Japan are known to modernize only slowly. This manifests itself in an adherence to technologies and systems that are already considered outdated in many other parts of the world, which leads to the use of external hard drives, paper documents and other easily losing objects.

An example of this became clear in 2018 when the then cyber security minister said he had never used a computer-a statement that quickly made international headlines. The gaps in modern technology were obvious during the Covid 19 pandemic, when the efforts of the state opened the inefficiency of paper racks and other outdated systems after mass vaccinations and tests.

To counteract this, a digital agency was set up to overtake the government's internal system. The new digital minister explained a "war against diskettes" ; These were only removed from government use in 2024, long after other large economies had stopped. The agency also set itself the goal of fax equipment and the traditional stamps that are used instead of signatures.