Nihon Cyber Defence

What Nihon Cyber Defence does

Nihon Cyber Defence (NCD) is a Tokyo-headquartered private cybersecurity firm founded on October 11, 2017 by Cartan McLaughlin, delivering managed detection, incident response, and advisory services to critical national infrastructure, government agencies, financial institutions, and large enterprises across Japan and the wider Asia-Pacific region, with operational offices in the UK, Ireland, USA, Malaysia, India, and Ukraine. The company's core technology is NCD SIEM, a Security Information and Event Management platform built on the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix for Enterprise framework that classifies events on a 1-100 severity scale and includes pre-built incident response playbooks for high-severity events, complemented by a global 24/7 Security Operations Centre (SOC). Service revenue is generated through a mix of recurring SOC/SIEM subscriptions, managed incident response retainers (often multi-year), and professional consulting engagements, with pricing bespoke to client infrastructure and disclosed only via direct sales consultation. NCD has assembled an unusually credentialed advisory board of former intelligence and military leaders from GCHQ, NSA, MI5, CIA, JSDF, and the Australian and Taiwanese armed forces, and was the first Japanese cybersecurity firm certified by the UK NCSC for Cyber Incident Response.

Name

Nihon Cyber Defence

Legal name

Nihon Cyber Defence Co., Ltd.

Website

https://nihoncyberdefence.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nihon Cyber Defence is a Tokyo-headquartered cybersecurity firm providing 24/7 SOC monitoring, SIEM, incident response, and advisory services to critical infrastructure, government, and enterprise clients across Japan, the UK, Ireland, the US, Malaysia, India, and Ukraine.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Services

NAICS

Other Computer Related Services (541519)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

OT/ICS & Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Services (BPAKAHAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cyber Defense & Information Security (National Security) (BPAIAHAE), Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) & NERC-CIP Compliance (HDADAJAC), Control System Cybersecurity for OT (ICS Security, Monitoring, Hardening) (IMAGABAL)

Keywords

• Managed security services
• Cybersecurity consulting
• Incident response services
• Security operations center
• Critical infrastructure protection

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Managed Security Services: Ongoing security monitoring and SOC services delivered 24/7, typically through retainer or subscription arrangements with enterprise clients requiring continuous protection.
2. Incident Management Services: Expert incident response and management services for cyber attacks, including 24x7x365 availability. Services include network intrusion response, ransomware handling, data breach management, and recovery support. Available as retainer or per-incident engagements.
3. Cyber Security Consulting: Professional consulting engagements including virtual CISO services, security assessments, penetration testing, and advisory services for compliance and governance.
4. NCD SIEM Platform: SIEM solution with flexible licensing based on number of nodes. Includes installation, system tuning, incident response playbooks, and ongoing monitoring support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nihon Cyber Defence delivers 24/7 cybersecurity services to critical national infrastructure, government and large enterprises in Japan and globally. Its portfolio combines a proprietary NCD SIEM platform (mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix for Enterprise with node-based licensing) with a global Security Operations Centre providing continuous network monitoring, expert 24x7x365 incident management and response (ransomware, data breach, network intrusion, DDoS, insider threat), and bespoke cyber security consultancy and Protective Services (Virtual CISO, cyber maturity assessment, penetration testing, DFIR, framework implementation and cyber exercising).

Product overview

Nihon Cyber Defence (NCD) is a cybersecurity services company offering a portfolio of interconnected solutions. The core offerings include NCD SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) for security monitoring and threat detection, supported by 24/7 Network Monitoring and Security Operations through a global SOC. Advisory capabilities are delivered through Cyber Security Consultancy services, while Protective Services provide preparation and readiness capabilities. Incident Management services offer expert response for cyber crises. These services work together to provide comprehensive cyber defence covering prevention, detection, response, and recovery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NCD SIEM: Security Information & Event Management solution providing advanced security intelligence, 24/7 monitoring, and incident response playbooks for threat detection.

Products and services

• NCD SIEM Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution providing advanced visibility into security events with severity classification (1–100 scale), easy-to-use dashboards and incident response playbooks for high-severity events. Detects threats at stages 4–5 of the attack lifecycle using the ATT&CK Matrix for Enterprise framework from MITRE, delivered as a 24/7 monitored service with flexible licensing based on the number of nodes rather than events per second.
• Network Monitoring and Security Operations Continuous 24/7 monitoring of organizational networks via a global Security Operations Centre (SOC), providing early warning, rapid alerting for suspicious or malicious activity, vulnerability exposure detection, and containment capabilities. Includes external and internal penetration tests, vulnerability assessments, digital forensics incident response (DFIR) management, red team assessments, and dark web leak monitoring.
• Incident Management Expert incident management and response service available 24x7x365 for cyber crises, cyberattacks and incidents including network intrusion, ransomware, data breaches, insider threats and DDoS attacks. Provides dedicated incident coordinators and rapid recovery support, available as retainer or per-incident engagements.
• Cyber Security Consultancy Advisory services drawing on expertise from government agencies, law enforcement and industry. Covers Virtual CISO, security frameworks (ISO 27001, NIST, NCSC CAF), data protection regulations, risk and threat assessment, cyber maturity assessment, executive training, and vulnerability assessments for enterprise customers and government clients.
• Protective Services Preparation and readiness services including vulnerability assessment, maturity assessment, penetration testing, policy and governance review, incident response planning, cloud security review, user training, C-suite training, threat intelligence development, privileged access management, cyber exercising, and supply chain risk assessment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced attack surface through vulnerability assessment and penetration testing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NetcraftcoreTechnology or Integration · 12 May 2025Strategic partnership to deliver real-time phishing detection and takedown services in Japan. Netcraft's automated digital risk protection platform combines detection, threat intelligence, and takedown capabilities to protect organizations and customers from phishing, scams, fraud, and cyber attacks.
• FivecastcoreTechnology or Integration · 17 January 2025NCD and Fivecast partnered to enhance cyber threat intelligence capabilities for Japan. The collaboration combines Fivecast's advanced AI-powered OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) technology with NCD's expertise in cyber threat intelligence and Japanese cyber security needs, delivering actionable intelligence for Japanese organizations.
• CyberEnsominorOthersAssociated site and potential partnership in the Japanese cyber security ecosystem. Listed as a related/associated site on NCD's website.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Emerging players

• Arctic Wolf: Fast-growing MDR/SOC-as-a-service provider competing in the same managed detection and SIEM-alternative category as NCD's 24/7 SOC and SIEM operations.
• ReliaQuest: MSSP/MDR platform provider focused on enterprise SOC operations and threat detection at scale, competing for the same mid-to-large enterprise security operations budgets that NCD targets.

Direct peers

• LAC Co., Ltd. LAC is a Tokyo-headquartered cybersecurity services and solutions firm serving Japanese enterprises and government with SOC, incident response, and consulting — directly overlapping NCD's core Japanese MSSP/IR/consulting offering.
• eSentire: MDR specialist focused on 24/7 SOC, threat hunting, and incident response for organizations including critical infrastructure — closely comparable to NCD's managed detection and IR offerings.
• NCC Group: UK-headquartered cyber security services and consulting firm with NCSC-recognised incident response and assurance practices, comparable to NCD's UK-anchored NCSC CIR–certified IR and advisory services.
• Secureworks: Global pure-play MDR/MSSP specializing in 24/7 SOC, threat detection, and incident response for enterprises — a direct competitor in the managed security services layer that NCD sells.

Broad incumbents

• Trend Micro: Japan-founded global cybersecurity vendor with a deep enterprise and government channel in Japan and broad managed detection, threat intel, and IR services that intersect NCD's portfolio at much greater scale.
• Mandiant (Google Cloud): Leading global incident response, threat intelligence, and managed defense firm; competes with NCD on high-end IR retainers and threat intel, particularly for government and CNI accounts.
• NTT Security (NTT Ltd.): Global MSSP arm of NTT offering managed security, consulting, and incident response across APAC, EMEA and the Americas — overlapping NCD's cross-border SOC and CNI/government work at significantly larger scale.
• BAE Systems Applied Intelligence: Global cyber defense and intelligence-grade security services business with strong UK government heritage, mirroring NCD's positioning of intelligence-leveraged cyber services into regulated sectors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nihon-cyber-defence
• Xx.com/nihoncyber

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles23 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nihon Cyber Defence