Prof. KIKUCHI (left) receiving a letter of appreciation in his laboratory
On October 1, Professor KIKUCHI Hiroaki of the School of Interdisciplinary Mathematical Sciences was presented with a letter of appreciation from the Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited (NEXCO Central Japan). This recognition was granted in appreciation of his contributions as a member of the Crisis Management Review Committee for the Event of a Wide-Area ETC System Failure.
The committee was established by NEXCO Central Japan in response to the large-scale ETC system failure, and Professor KIKUCHI participated as an expert on network security. At the committee, he advised on investigating the cause of the large-scale failure in the expressway ETC system and considering measures to prevent recurrence.
Based on Professor KIKUCHI’s expertise as a researcher in distributed networks and cybersecurity, as well as his recommendations for enhancing fault tolerance against system failures, the company has established a communication system that enables quick recovery from system failures. The company also implemented measures such as providing detailed information through various information media. Furthermore, the Equipment Response Manual in the Event of Wide-Area ETC System Failure, which was formulated under the advice of the committee, is being utilized to operate a highly reliable ETC system that can quickly recover from various types of failures.
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