Trading platform rocked by Japan hack, $50m ransom note

Japan’s vulnerability to cyber attacks was on full display again Tuesday as hackers threatened to leak customer data of retail foreign exchange traders and to conduct a ransomware attack unless they were paid $50 million.

With dozens of businesses in the nation reporting breaches to their systems and potential leaks of client data in recent weeks, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said the nation would address the damage from the latest attack with a sense of urgency.

Katayama said there was “a sense of crisis shared globally” over cybersecurity as hackers harness artificial intelligence to take advantage of vulnerabilities. “Given how rapidly these incidents and circumstances evolve, we will continue to call on financial authorities to respond appropriately and swiftly as developments unfold,” she told reporters.

GMO Internet Group, the subject of the latest attack, said it would not agree to the demand from the hackers, which included payment of 8 billion yen ($50 million). It asked customers to scan their PCs for viruses, back up their files and unplug and turn off their devices before deadline of noon Tuesday set by the hackers.

Hackers targeting GMO Internet Group claim to have published personal information on one GMO customer, NHK reported without attribution.

Katayama said earlier that five foreign exchange firms had reported customers affected by the GMO incident. She added that she had received no reports of new unauthorised transactions. GMO sought government assistance on Saturday to help disrupt the source of the attacks.

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Emergency measures 

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed her cabinet on Monday to draw up emergency measures by the end of next week in response to a wave of cyberattacks targeting Japanese companies.

Marito Ueda, president of SBI FX Trade, said the retail currency trading industry as a whole has recently been seeing customers closing dormant accounts, and that with interest rates rising, he expected some people to opt to put money back into bank deposits.

“Yet, those who were actively trading FX appear to have stayed in the market, as trading volumes have not declined,” he said. “If the fallout extends beyond FX and into equities for instance, it could become much harder to contain.”

At a regular press conference on Tuesday, economy minister Ryosei Akazawa said the government would offer smaller companies free consultation services on boosting their cybersecurity.

Cyberattacks and the discovery of vulnerabilities in PHP programming language used in some websites have made a swift response an urgent priority for businesses and the government. Several political parties called for stronger measures last week.

In recommendations submitted to Takaichi on Oct. 23, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said the recent wave of cyberattacks constituted a serious crisis that could be described as “the eve of a cyber emergency,” threatening Japan’s national security. It warned that “AI cyber saturation attacks,” in which artificial intelligence automatically identifies system vulnerabilities and launches attacks simultaneously, could occur in the near future.

The party also proposed creating a response headquarters led by the prime minister’s office, while accelerating efforts to improve the capabilities of the Self-Defence Forces and police and strengthen cooperation with allies. In the financial sector, it called for the public and private sectors to work together to steadily implement defensive measures.

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‘AI versus humans’

Masaaki Taira, a former digital minister who led the drafting of the recommendations, said attackers are using AI to mount attacks faster and on a broader scale than before, while companies are still relying on people to defend themselves. “Structurally, it has become AI versus humans,” he said. The government needs to work with leading AI companies to build a system capable of using AI for defence, he added.

One concern common is securing specialist personnel. With highly skilled private-sector cybersecurity professionals such as white-hat hackers in mind, the LDP called for the creation of a new personnel and compensation system that would “break through the rigidities of the civil-service system and enable compensation commensurate with market value.”

Behind these proposals is a recognition that government salaries are insufficient compared with those in the private sector. According to the National Personnel Authority, the government can offer annual compensation of as much as ¥33.8 million under its fixed-term appointment system to private-sector personnel with specialised expertise. The latest data show 490 people are employed under the system, but none is receiving compensation at the highest level on a monthly-pay basis.

“Annual compensation of ¥33.8 million is by no means low, but there are limits to how far that level of pay can attract people who are already highly valued in the private sector,” said Sumio Morita, senior managing director at human-resources consultancy Towers Watson.

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