March 12, 2021
Information industry researcher Takano Yoshifu in an Akahata interview on March 12 warned against the use of Amazon's cloud services which the Japanese government is planning to introduce.
Takano said that GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple) is focusing on R&D by utilizing their high profitability and ample funds, and that they are active in selling cloud services which store and provide data via the Internet.
He said that figures released by Google and Amazon indicate that both their amounts of available capital and their rates of growth are increasing in the global cloud market. These two U.S. firms along with Microsoft account for a 67.2% share of the world's cloud market, according to Gartner Inc. in 2019. He added that Amazon's share is especially high (45%), gaining 60% of its operating profits from cloud services.
On the other hand, he pointed out that IT companies in Japan are losing international competitiveness. He noted that the then Communications Minister, Takaichi Sanae, in February 2020 announced that the government will adopt Amazon Web Services (AWS) as common government platforms. The researcher said, however, that information leakage from Amazon's cloud services occur frequently through unauthorized access abroad, expressing concern over a possible breach of government data.
Six digital-related bills were submitted to the Diet on February 9, designating AWS for used by the central government and local municipalities. Takano said that the government should not underestimate the risk associated with aggregation of confidential information in AWS.
Past related article:
> Japan-US digital trade agreement will harm human rights protection online: expert [November 29, 2019]
Takano said that GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple) is focusing on R&D by utilizing their high profitability and ample funds, and that they are active in selling cloud services which store and provide data via the Internet.
He said that figures released by Google and Amazon indicate that both their amounts of available capital and their rates of growth are increasing in the global cloud market. These two U.S. firms along with Microsoft account for a 67.2% share of the world's cloud market, according to Gartner Inc. in 2019. He added that Amazon's share is especially high (45%), gaining 60% of its operating profits from cloud services.
On the other hand, he pointed out that IT companies in Japan are losing international competitiveness. He noted that the then Communications Minister, Takaichi Sanae, in February 2020 announced that the government will adopt Amazon Web Services (AWS) as common government platforms. The researcher said, however, that information leakage from Amazon's cloud services occur frequently through unauthorized access abroad, expressing concern over a possible breach of government data.
Six digital-related bills were submitted to the Diet on February 9, designating AWS for used by the central government and local municipalities. Takano said that the government should not underestimate the risk associated with aggregation of confidential information in AWS.
Past related article:
> Japan-US digital trade agreement will harm human rights protection online: expert [November 29, 2019]
