A report from Japan’s National Police Agency released on September 15 found that cybercriminals allegedly carried out 114 ransomware attacks against businesses and other organizations in Japan in the first half of this year alone. A particularly high number of attacks, linked to the ease with which ransoms are paid in Japan.
Alarming data, more and more attacks
This year in Japan, attackers have targeted the automotive industry, including Denso Corp., which is an affiliate supplier of Toyota Motor Corp., and Kojima Industries Corp., a business partner of Toyota, as well as hospitals.
During an attack by ransomware, hackers block access to an organization’s private data using encryption techniques and then demand a ransom in exchange for restoring it. In Japan, the increase in this type of cyberattack could be explained on the one hand by the increase in telework and the poor security of the software used at home, but also by the fact that Japanese companies give in too easily, even in cases where the security breach did not actually occur.
Do not pay ransoms too easily
Robin England of cybersecurity firm Ontrack explains that while each incident is unique and can vary in complexity, data recovery is always possible after a cyberattack. ransomware. Success, of course, depends on the ransomware. In case of attack from ransomware, so do not pay the demanded ransom, as this encourages cybercriminals to perpetuate such intrusions. In France, L’Anssi has published a guide presenting the measures to adopt to react well to a ransomware attack.