Tag Archive for: Shimbun

Hackers attacked JOC computer system in breach not made public : The Asahi Shimbun


Hackers penetrated the computer system of the Japanese Olympic Committee last year and temporarily shut down operations.

However, because confirmation could not be made that internal documents were stolen, the incident was not reported to the police nor disclosed to the public.

The hack occurred in April 2020 shortly after the decision was made to postpone the Tokyo Olympics for a year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The pandemic forced many JOC staff to work from home. The hacking led to those employees being cut off from internet connections, making work from home impossible, temporarily halting operations.

Operations resumed in about a month after all 60 or so computer servers and desktop computers used by staff were replaced. Sources said the total cost of that replacement came to about 30 million yen ($270,000).

An investigation by specialists found ransomware had been used to spread a virus in the JOC computer system. However, JOC sources said the organization did not receive any specific demands for ransom or a statement from the hackers about the attack.

Some of the data in the system was encrypted and included personal information about high-tier athletes.

But one high-ranking JOC official said, “Based on the view of the experts, we made the assessment that none of that data was stolen.”

A report was made to the sports ministry, which oversees the JOC, but no reports were made to the police or the various sports organizations because no internal information had been stolen.

One JOC executive did say the incident led to a reinforcement of computer security.

One JOC source said, “Given our social standing, we should have disclosed the incident and explained what happened.”

(This article was written by Kogo Shioya and Tatsuya Sudo, a senior staff writer.)

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National Police Agency computer hacked 46 times through VPN : The Asahi Shimbun


People working from home due to the novel coronavirus pandemic may want to think twice about consulting the National Police Agency about computer security.

The agency failed to stop hackers from breaking into one of its personal computers 46 times between August 2019 and mid-November this year, red-faced officials announced on Nov. 27.

“It’s extremely embarrassing that the NPA was successfully attacked when it should have a computer security system that is unbreachable,” a high-ranking NPA official said.

The breach revolved around the virtual private network (VPN) the agency provides to outside companies that it has dealings with. VPN devices have been in wide use by those working from home because they are used to connect to company computer networks.

The hacking at the NPA stemmed from the theft of IDs and passwords to access the VPN.

The hacked computer was used to exchange contract-related data with outside companies. The VPN allowed those companies to directly access the NPA computer.

NPA officials are confident that the data was not leaked because all exchanges are deleted from the computer after an exchange over a specific contract is concluded.

NPA officials said they learned about the breach from officials at the Metropolitan Police Department.

Since mid-November, a hacking group had posted a list of about 50,000 VPN devices, including the one used by the NPA, on a bulletin board site. Sources said someone tipped off the Metropolitan Police Department about the list and those officials in turn informed the NPA.

The Asahi Shimbun analyzed the list with the help of outside experts and found 5,600 IP addresses in Japan were on it. The number was second only to the 7,700 or so IP addresses in the United States.

Identifying the organizations possessing the IP addresses led to small businesses, local governments and educational institutions in Japan.

One of the educational institutions was Sapporo University in Hokkaido, which on Dec. 4 announced that the ID information of nine employees had been stolen by hackers.

The VPN devices on the list were all manufactured by Fortinet of the United States. In May 2019, the company announced a…

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Imperial couple reach out to health care workers online : The Asahi Shimbun


With the novel coronavirus pandemic barring direct engagement with people, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are switching their interactions with the public in a manner picture-perfect for the pandemic.

On Nov. 18, the imperial couple held a videoconference with health care workers at various hospitals around Japan dealing with the pandemic.

From the Akasaka Imperial Residence in Tokyo, Naruhito and Masako watched and conversed with doctors and nurses in such areas as northern Hokkaido and Okinawa Prefecture in the south using a 50-inch monitor.

Imperial Household Agency officials said it was the first time the emperor and empress used an online system to interact with the public.

The session began with Yukio Honma, head of the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center, based in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward. He explained how his hospital was treating COVID-19 patients. The medical center is one of the medical institutions designated specifically to handle the novel coronavirus.

According to Hiroki Tomita, a vice president of the Japanese Red Cross Society, Naruhito told Masako that the display gave him the impression those he was speaking to were right in front of him.

Doctors and nurses from three hospitals affiliated with the Japanese Red Cross Society spoke with the imperial couple through the videoconferencing system. The hospitals were located in Hokkaido, Fukushima Prefecture and Okinawa.

The imperial couple expressed their deep respect for the various activities carried out so far by the health care professionals. Masako also said she was worried about the difficulties facing those working on the front lines of the pandemic.

Imperial Household Agency officials said the imperial couple had long indicated their desire to thank those treating COVID-19 patients. But as having them visit a hospital in person would have burdened the staff, it was decided to hold the videoconference.

Initially, agency officials were less than enthusiastic about using online systems. with one high-ranking official saying, “It is important for the emperor and empress to directly meet with and talk to people to ensure that their thoughts are passed on.” 

But the…

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SDF booting up capabilities to defend against cyberattacks : The Asahi Shimbun – Asahi Shimbun

SDF booting up capabilities to defend against cyberattacks : The Asahi Shimbun  Asahi Shimbun
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