Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and Cyreeg form cybersecurity JV

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, a member of MS&AD Insurance Group, and Cyreeg Holdings have signed a basic agreement to establish a joint venture company in the cybersecurity business.

Background of this Agreement

In recent years, cyber attack damages in Japan have been increasing, affecting companies regardless of industry or size. Cases that receive significant media coverage due to their scale of damage are becoming frequent. Companies that suffer attacks not only face direct damage such as business interruption but also experience substantial harm to their performance, credibility, and brand through the spread of damage to business partners and other third parties.

While cybersecurity risk is a critical management issue, implementing countermeasures requires high-level expertise and knowledge. This often leads to gaps in understanding between management and specialized departments regarding basic knowledge and countermeasures. As a result, companies and organizations struggle to implement necessary measures effectively. Therefore, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, there is a need for support to bridge the gap between management and specialized departments to achieve appropriate cybersecurity measures.

The SMBC Group aims to become a global solution provider that develops alongside customers and society through the highest level of trust, expanding services not only in financial areas but also in various non-financial domains. They capture evolving social issues early and provide solutions such as “Sustana,” a cloud service supporting CO2 emission calculation and reduction for achieving a decarbonized society, and “Wevox,” an organizational strength improvement platform supporting corporate value enhancement from a human capital perspective.

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, as a core business company of the MS&AD Insurance Group, is strengthening its efforts in businesses that contribute to solving four main social issues (coexistence with the global environment, innovative technology, resilience and recovery, inclusive society) to achieve social sustainability. For example, in addition to traditional insurance functions, they are expanding risk solutions before and after compensation that contribute to accident/disaster prevention and early recovery, providing new value. From October 2023, they began offering “MS&AD Cyber Risk Finder,” a cyber risk diagnostic service for small and medium-sized enterprises, advancing initiatives to transform the value of insurance provision.

Cyreeg HD is an intermediate holding company established in December 2023 by its parent company, Change Holdings, to accelerate the promotion of cybersecurity business. True to its name origin, it has established a management system that enables bold concept-based agile decision-making in an environment where personnel with necessary cybersecurity business expertise are consolidated and compete like a league. Starting with the acquisition of Ideal Route Consulting (Digital Arts Consulting at the time of acquisition) in March this year, they have been expanding their cybersecurity service offerings. President Yasuhisa Takatani, who also serves as the representative of E-Guardian (under Change HD), which specializes in cybersecurity business, works in unity with Change HD to support the enhancement of Japanese companies’ cybersecurity and build an environment where they can engage in DX with peace of mind.

These three companies consider cybersecurity countermeasures as an area where they should work together to solve challenges.

Overview of this Agreement

SMBC Group, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, and Cyreeg HD have agreed to explore establishing a joint venture company that will promote the strengthening of cybersecurity measures across Japanese companies by combining SMBC Group’s customer relationships with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and Cyreeg HD’s advanced technical capabilities and expertise in cybersecurity.

Business Areas Under Consideration
(1) Security assessment and consulting through customer interviews
(2) Provision of related solutions based on the above and intermediary services for partner company solutions

The specific business details will be discussed among the three companies going forward.

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