KDDI and NEC Sign Basic Agreement to Collaborate toward Establishing Japan's Largest-Scale Cybersecurity Business
―Reducing Japan's Security Risks through WAKONX and BluStellar―
KDDI Corporation
NEC Corporation
On May 8, 2025, KDDI Corporation (head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hiromichi Matsuda; "KDDI") and NEC Corporation (head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Takayuki Morita; "NEC") signed a basic agreement to begin exploring a joint cybersecurity business.
Through this agreement, the two companies aim to build a purely domestic security platform that offers stronger defenses against increasingly sophisticated cyberthreats, and to deploy what will be the nation's largest-scale [
1] cybersecurity business.
KDDI has launched WAKONX [2], a next-generation AI-powered business platform designed to accelerate digitalization and drive both business growth and social value. NEC offers BluStellar [3], a value-creation model that harnesses its cross-industry insights and advanced technologies to guide customers into the future.
Going forward, the two companies will leverage WAKONX and BluStellar to deliver the jointly developed, purely domestic security platform to government agencies and enterprise customers. By protecting critical information assets, infrastructure, and overseas sites from cyberthreats, they aim to help ensure customers' safe and stable business operations.
■Background
In Japan, rising geopolitical risks have led to an increase in cyberattacks on corporations and government bodies. Ransomware and other attack methods have become more sophisticated, causing data breaches and operational shutdowns. Increasingly, they have caused reputational damage for corporations and affected citizens' daily lives.
The enactment of the Economic Security Promotion Act further requires critical infrastructure operators to minimize service-interruption risks from cyberattacks, compelling private companies to strengthen their cyber-security capabilities.
Against this backdrop, KDDI and NEC have decided to join forces to reduce security risks and raise Japan's overall security posture.
■Collaborative Initiatives under the Agreement
Under the agreement, KDDI and NEC will pursue two main initiatives to protect Japanese companies and government bodies with a more robust security foundation, including their overseas locations:
- 1Strengthening AI- and Intelligence-Driven Cybersecurity [4]
- Collect and aggregate vast amounts of cyberthreat data through services offered by each company and their subsidiaries.
- Apply combined expertise and proprietary AI technologies to analyze that data, enhancing capabilities for threat detection, prevention, and response in an intelligence-driven cybersecurity service.
- 2Advancing Global Security Monitoring and Operations
- Leverage the global security-monitoring know-how [
5] cultivated through cooperation between NEC and KDDI subsidiary LAC Co., Ltd. (head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Toshikazu Murayama; "LAC") in Singapore, together with KDDI's Telehouse data-center network (over 45 sites in more than 10 countries) and NEC's government-system operations and cybersecurity expertise.- Jointly build a global security-operations and monitoring framework to strengthen defenses against cyberthreats targeting Japanese companies and their overseas facilities.
(Assets and Services Gathering Threat Intelligence)
By combining these purely domestic group assets and platforms, KDDI and NEC will work to establish the nation's largest-scale cybersecurity business.
■About KDDI
KDDI is a leading global telecommunications and ICT services provider. Centered on 5G, it delivers a wide range of services: multiple brands including "au," "UQ mobile," and "povo" provide telecommunications and financial services for consumers, while the "KDDI BUSINESS" brand for corporate customers supports the digital transformation of enterprises and municipal governments. Under its "KDDI VISION 2030," the company aims to evolve the power of connectivity and create social value in partnership with stakeholders, building a society where everyone can realize their ambitions.
■About NEC
NEC, with 125 years of history, is a global leader in IT services and social infrastructure. Leveraging strengths in AI, biometrics, security, and networking, NEC provides innovative solutions and actively develops new businesses. Its BluStellar value-creation model unites cross-industry insights and cutting-edge technologies to accelerate digital transformation for society and enterprises, striving for a sustainable future where everyone can fully express their humanity.
- [1]Aiming to be the largest in Japan in terms of specialized personnel and revenue.
- [2]WAKONX is an AI-era business platform with three functional groups, launched to accelerate Japan's digitalization under KDDI VISION 2030.
- [3]BluStellar is a value-creation model based on NEC's industry-crossing insights and advanced technologies to transform business models and solve social and management challenges.
- [4]Intelligence-driven cybersecurity: an approach that begins with aggregated and analyzed threat intelligence to detect, prevent, and respond to cyberthreats.
- [5]
- [6]
- [7]
- *The information contained in the articles is current at the time of publication.
Products, service fees, service content and specifications, contact information, and other details are subject to change without notice.
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