Yamataian Information Defence Force

The Yamataian Information Defence Force, (Yashiman: 情報防衛隊) is a organisation of Yamatai, operating under the Yamataian Ministry of Defence. Though largely staffed by military personnel, it is not considered a branch of the Yamataian Armed Forces. The IDF is responsible for preventing, defending against and carrying out, as well as carrying out cyber-based espionage.

Created in early 2004 following the 2003 North-East Shinkyuko Disaster, the IDF is the youngest of Yamatai's three main intelligence agencies. Since its inception the IDF has defended against numerous cyber attacks against the Yamataian state and people by foreign and non-state parties, and has also carried out a number of clandestine cyber attacks against targets around the globe.

The headquarters of the IDF is the Asakura Ryoko Cyber Warfare and Research Centre in Kaga, Morioka, and the current director of the IDF is Admiral Otomo Toshiro.

History
The IDF was formed following the 2003 North-East Shinkyuko Disaster, the only major disaster on the famously safe Shinkyuko network in Yamataian history, which resulted in 23 deaths and 210 injured. The investigation into the disaster later discovered that the cause of the crash was a cyber attack carried out by the 46th Battalion, a radical Hinoan terrorist group, in conjunction with aid from an as-of-yet unrevealed foreign power. The incident highlighted the dangers of cyber warfare to affect the real world in devastating ways, with the increasingly interconnected modern Yamataian society becoming more and more vulnerable to such attacks. Private cyber security firms were judged as inadequate in the face of such high-level threats from state and non-state actors, and the existent Imperial Army's 404th Cyberwarfare Battalion was insufficient due to its focus on battlefield applications of cyber warfare.

In January 2004, the Information Defence Force was officially declared by the Minister of Defence at the official opening of the Asakura Ryoko Cyber Warfare and Research Centre, a campus partly dedicated to the research of cyber warfare, jointly financed by the Ministry of Defence and the Kaga Institute of Computer Science. In April, Empress Keiko oversaw the formal inauguration of the Information Defence Force.

During the 2010 Masukan War, the IDF carried out cyber attacks against the Masukan military infrastructure, though the details of these attacks are not well-known by the public. According to declassified government documents, the IDF has blocked at least 670 major cyber attacks on Yamataian infrastructure, as well as an unknown number of minor attacks. There has also been suspicion that the IDF has been responsible for various cyber incursions in Arshavat.

Defence against cyber attacks
The primary stated role of the IISDF is to protect Yamataian systems, including government, infrastructure and military systems from cyber attacks from both foreign and internal perpetrators. The Yamataian internet system is protection firstly through, and sensitive systems are wholly separate from the global internet. A complex system of, and  are in place to ensure attacks cannot take place, while a constantly-updated database of known attack patterns and viruses is maintained to aid  capabilities. As viruses evolve, the IDF continuously changes its own programs and the national systems to be.

Offensive cyber attacks
Once Yamatai is engaged through cyberwarfare and this attack is deemed a national security threat, the IDF can be authorised by the Prime Minister to carry out retaliatory offensive cyber attacks on targets, both domestic or foreign. Though the full extent of the IDF's offensive capability is unknown, the IDF has allegedly developed numerous computer viruses designed to target and disrupt interconnected infrastructure and military intranet-style systems.

The IDF also has the capability to carry out cyber espionage and has been doing so for some time. Arshavat has blocked numerous unknown espionage attempts that are allegedly highly similar to Yamataian cyber warfare patterns.

Physical intervention
The IDF also operates a small paramilitary group known as the Information Self-Defence Force Direct Intervention Group (ChoKa), which is comprised of members of the Imperial Army Special Forces units. This is a quick-response paramilitary unit intended to physically remove or apprehend cyber attackers or destroy cyber warfare infrastructure if necessary. It is not known to have overseas deployment capabilities, but speculation has arisen that the ChoKa is responsible for the destruction of network equipment in some foreign states.