SoftBank Group has launched a new cybersecurity service built with OpenAI to help organisations detect and fix system weaknesses before they are exploited.
The product, called “Patching as a Service,” will be provided in Japan through a joint venture between SoftBank’s telecoms arm, SoftBank Corp, and OpenAI.
It focuses on vulnerability assessments, planning fixes, and advising companies on how to apply them.
SoftBank says it will first target selected firms linked to critical infrastructure. These include organisations whose systems support essential public and business services. Outreach to those companies will begin gradually.
Cybersecurity risks have been increasing as attackers utilise artificial intelligence to speed up and scale breaches. SoftBank says this has made it harder for organisations to keep systems secure, especially when threats change quickly and affect multiple layers of infrastructure.
The company tested the system internally before the rollout. During that phase, SoftBank Corp carried out a large vulnerability assessment across its own systems using OpenAI’s cybersecurity tools.
It said the exercise helped identify weaknesses and gave its security teams practical experience that now feeds into the commercial service.
SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son said, “We want to create a system where we will be able to defend critical Japanese infrastructure,”
“We want to leverage the new weapon of OpenAI to defend, we see this as our obligation,” Son added.
Junichi Miyakawa, president and CEO of SoftBank Corp, said the company would apply lessons from its internal testing to external clients.
“Leveraging the practical expertise we’ve acquired through our use of OpenAI’s cybersecurity technologies, we’ll confront the increasingly sophisticated cyber threats targeting Japan’s critical infrastructure.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “AI is transforming cybersecurity, and we’re focused on building durable programs that help it accelerate defenders. We’re excited to work with SoftBank to deliver the transformational benefits of our cyber models to more organisations in Japan and strengthen the systems all of us rely on.”
SoftBank said the cybersecurity service combines the models of OpenAI with its own operational experience in managing large-scale telecom and enterprise systems. It believes this mix will help organisations move from detection to action more quickly, rather than reacting after breaches occur.
The rollout will start with a small team of around 50 people working on deployment and support. That figure is expected to grow to about 1,000 as demand increases and the service expands across more sectors in Japan.
