Initiatives for creating a secure communications environmentFocusing on initiatives to combat spamAdoption of NTT encryption technology as a global standardProviding a safe and secure communications environment
The proliferation of ICT has been accompanied by increased
risk to both individuals and corporations. Every member of the
public is exposed on a daily basis to the dangers of ID theft,
phishing, and fraudulent billing in the course of performing transactions
at ATMs, using credit cards, making online purchases,
or any other activity involving the use of confidential information.
Abuse of the Internet and mobile phones to transmit spam
and computer viruses or to gain unauthorized access to the
personal information of others has become a serious issue. As
a provider of ICT services, the NTT Group is committed to finding
solutions to these threats so that it may continue to provide
our customers with a safe and secure communications environment.
Initiatives
Anti-spam measures
NTT Communications uses a number of anti-spam measures on its OCN Internet service.
One such measure is a service
launched in April 2006 that automatically blocks e-mail to OCN
e-mail addresses sent via third party mail-hosting services often
used by spammers. NTT Communications and NTT Do-
CoMo, in conjunction with other telecommunications carriers
and major Japanese providers, have also established the Japan
Email Anti-Abuse Group (JEAG), an organization for the promotion
of unified anti-spam policies and technology.
IPv6 open building automation system at Akihabara UDX
Photo:Koji Okumura
With its opening on March 9, 2006, the new Akihabara UDX complex became the latest landmark in an area known around the world as a hub for both the IT industry and cultural community. NTT Urban Development and NTT FACILITIES were involved in the design of the building, which is equipped with an IPv6 open building automation system (BAS) that makes use of NTT Group technology. The system enhances management through the integrated control of efficient and subtle lighting, air-conditioning, sanitation, and heat source systems, thus achieving a high level of energy efficiency and sustainability for the building.
Safe and handy FirstPass electronic authentication service
FirstPass is an NTT DoCoMo electronic authentication service for its FOMA mobile phone network that uses standard Internet PKI technology in place of conventional ID/password authentication.
This service eliminates the need to input ID/password, instead enabling easy authentication by sending a user certificate (data) obtained from NTT DoCoMo to FirstPass compatible sites via mobile phones or PCs. FirstPass ensures safe and reliable data communications, preventing eavesdropping, spoofing, and falsification of electronic documents.
R&D for creating safe and secure communications environments
The NTT Group is committed to the research and development
of technologies for a safe and secure communications infrastructure
capable of defending against abusive and illicit activities
such as the theft of data or denial of service attacks.
Technologies currently under development include maximumstrength
encryption technology, cyber attack countermeasures,
blocking of spam and other unsolicited e-mail, and protection
against the theft of data on corporate networks.
Initiatives
NTT's Camellia encryption algorithm adopted as an international encryption specification
NTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories, in conjunction
with Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, has developed a 128-
bit block cipher named Camellia, which is the first encryption
algorithm developed in Japan to be adopted as a standard for
major Internet security protocols. Camellia features world-class
stability and performance, and has been adopted as an international
standard cipher by ISO/IEC and recommended specification
by other organizations too.
The rapid proliferation and penetration of broadband has been
accompanied by an increase in security issues such as data
theft and unauthorized access. The NTT Group is committed
to continued investment in security technology R&D aimed at
providing safe and secure network services that customers
can use with confidence.
Implementation of a storage-centric security system at NTT headquarters
With information security becoming a major social concern as a result of recent incidents, NTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories has developed a storage-centric security system that can be used to manage security at desktop terminals as well as to back up data. To make this technology available to its customers as soon as possible, NTT in fiscal 2005 started to deploy this system on desktop and outside-use laptop PCs at its headquarters building in Tokyo's Otemachi in preparation for commercial application, and it plans to have all computer terminals at the headquarters building covered by this system by the end of fiscal 2006.
Protecting corporate websites from cyber attacks
From April to July 2005, NTT Information Sharing Platform Laboratories implemented trial operation of a system that protects data centers and corporate websites from cyber attacks in cooperation with affiliated Internet service providers. Even before computer security became such a serious social issue, NTT had developed and tested the effectiveness of firewall prototypes that protect against network-wide attacks, and this system too was confirmed to mitigate damage to users, staving off attacks launched from multiple machines that could potentially affect thousands of hosting service users. NTT aims to make this system available as early as possible once evaluation tests are finished.
Providing a safe and secure communications environment
NTT Cyber Solutions Laboratories is developing "secure space design technology" that will enable people to access sensitive information from ATMs, PCs, or other public places without the fear of their personal information being compromised. The results of this research were published in February 2005 under the title Pictorial Guidelines for Secure Spaces, and trial operation of a system operating under these guidelines was conducted up to December 12, 2005. This technology combines ergonomic and architectural know-how with a thorough understanding of how the user feels to create a secure space where information can be handled in a safe and private manner.
Remote video monitoring services for detecting intruders
NTT Cyber Space Laboratories announced in March 2006 the development of technologies for identifying suspicious movement and even human faces in real-time video. These technologies can provide high-resolution images of the movements and face of the person in the video, enabling users to monitor the security of their homes from remote locations. Also announced in July 2006 was a prototype home security monitoring system that can be displayed on the screen of a mobile phone handset.
Integrated data management technology capable of extracting and applying valuable information from large volumes of sensor data
Conventional database management usually involves the processing of information that has been stored in a database, but NTT Cyber Space Laboratories is developing new technology that processes data streams continuously as they are generated. This system is able to integrate large volumes of sensor data acquired from widely dispersed sources (for example, data issuing from RFID tags), processing this data through a variety of filters for clustering, matching and so forth. This kind of real-time data processing enables immediate responses such as the issue of alerts to designated destinations, while the collected data is also stored for various further uses. By enabling both real-time response to incoming data and later analysis and examination, this technology can facilitate the building of information infrastructures for safety and security purposes. Future applications for this system include healthcare, crime prevention, traffic management, and disaster prevention.
Practical application of quantum cryptography now in sight
NTT Basic Research Laboratories in June 2005 announced the imminent application of secure communications using "quantum cryptography" that will effectively make electronic eavesdropping impossible. This system works by using photons of extremely weak light to transmit data, so that any attempt by a third party to read such data will affect the photons, alerting recipients to the presence of eavesdroppers. This same system ensures that only the sender and authorized recipient can decipher a message, since the recipient must receive a quantum key (necessary to decode the message) from the sender prior to the message, and the message will only be received after the recipient confirms there are no traces of unauthorized access. The application of this technology is expected to play a major role in communications for national security, financial, and other industries handling confidential information.
Secure and convenient personal identification technology
With personal identification technology attracting attention as an effective measure to prevent unauthorized access, NTT Microsystem Integration Laboratories has developed the world's smallest and lightest single-chip fingerprint authentication device that is capable of both reading and verifying fingerprints. Released on the market as a product in September 2005, this personal identification system provides a high level of security and convenience not only for laptop PCs, PDAs, and mobile phones, but also for home appliances and other devices whose lack of CPUs has up to now made the fitting of authentication systems difficult.
