Page 12 - 2018 Defense White Paper

Afri ca, Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe, triggering concerns that it is evolving into

the borderless ISIS 2.0. 3)
Rising cyberattacks constitute another serious type of transnational threat. There have
been various cases wherein the computing systems of not only private-sector f irms but also

government institutions were inf iltrated, causing serious system failure and collapse. Cyber-
threats persist globally, with major attacks including, the WannaCry ransomware attack
in May 2017, the NotPetya ransomware attack in June 2017, and the attack on the Turkish

cryptocurrency exchange in March 2018. Many countries around the world are accelerating
efforts to develop a strategy for responding to cyber-threats.
The spread of new types of infectious diseases has emerged as a cause of heightening concern

to the global community. The Ebola epidemic in 2013 was followed by the outbreak of the
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015, which rapidly spread to 26 countries. In
recent years, patients infected by the Zika virus have been identif ied in 73 countries. The United
Nations Security Council and the wider international community have recognized infectious

diseases as a major security threat 4) and are working towards revamping response capabilities
against this new threat.

Natural and man-made disasters are taking place all around the globe. They include the
Mexico earthquake and the Bali volcano eruption in 2017; the earthquakes in Indonesia and
Taiwan, and the volcanic eruption in Japan, the Philippines, and Hawaii in 2018. Such large-
scale natural and man-made disasters are dif f icult to forecast, and the economic damages that

they cause are growing. There is a limitation in the capabilities of an af f licted nation to carry
out quick and ef fective relief and recovery alone.

3) The major features of ISIS 2.0 include the global spread of terrorism; an increase in acts of terrorism, where no
one claims responsibility; and nomad terror.e
4) In UN Security Council Resolution 2177 adopted on September 18, 2014, it is stated that “the unprecedented
extent of the Ebola outbreak in Africa constitutes a threat to international peace and security.”e

10 Chapter 1 Changes and Challenges in the Security Environment