Tech Japan faces unprecedented surge in cyberattacks

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According to Akamai Technologies, Japan experienced a record surge in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks last month, with businesses targeted by a 60% increase in these network-flooding cyberattacks compared to the previous year. The volume and intensity of these attacks reached new highs, particularly impacting the financial sector, which saw a 4.1-fold jump in attacks, and the e-commerce sector, which experienced a 2.3-fold increase.

A concentrated wave of attacks hit financial institutions on 30 December. While the attacks subsided somewhat in early January, they have begun to rise again mid-month. These DDoS attacks disrupt online services by overwhelming them with traffic, and recent attacks have frequently involved data volumes of 1 to 3 terabits per second, as noted by Cloudflare.


A wave of DDoS attacks that struck Japan in September 2022 targeted websites belonging to government agencies and subway operators. According to Japan's National Police Agency, the biggest attack sent 100 gigabits of data per second. This would indicate that the volume of data in the December DDoS attacks was 10 to 30 times greater than the September 2022 attacks. These large-scale attacks are effective because they can quickly cause extensive damage before a company can respond. Yoachimik described them as "hit-and-run" attacks, calling the traditional countermeasure of restricting traffic outdated.

A Japan Airlines cyberattack on 26 December, which disrupted flights for several hours, is suspected to have been a DDoS attack. While DDoS attacks are often associated with hacktivists, no group has claimed responsibility. One security expert suggested that the scale and duration of the attacks point to a well-resourced perpetrator, potentially with "national backing," even if they remain anonymous. Trend Micro reports that 60 Japanese organizations, including JAL and major banks, were targeted by cyberattacks between late last year and 24 January.

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