The Chinese Communist military is suspected of being involved in cyber attacks against the development agency (JAXA) and about 200 Japanese companies and research institutions. Schematic diagram of the hack.
On Tuesday (April 20), the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department decided to prosecute a Chinese engineer, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, for his alleged involvement in a cyber attack against the development agency (JAXA) and some 200 Japanese companies and research institutions. Japanese media reported that the Chinese Communist Party military is suspected of being behind the cyberattack.
Sources close to the matter told Nikkei Asian Review that the suspect is a male in his thirties who is a member of the Chinese Communist Party. The case could be handed over to prosecutors as early as Tuesday.
Chinese hackers take orders from the Communist Party’s military to conduct organized cyberattacks are highly likely
Police allege the suspect rented the computer server used to conduct the cyberattack on JAXA in 2016. A Chinese man in his 30s who entered Japan at the time, an engineer, had rented the domestic Japanese server under a false name five times and used it to conduct cyberattacks.
Sources close to the investigation said the suspect was a systems engineer for a Chinese state-owned telecommunications company. He is believed to have been involved in cyberattacks against about 200 entities between 2016 and 2018.
He is also suspected of sharing server IDs with a hacking group called “Tick” that has ties to the Chinese Communist Party’s military.
The Japan Broadcasting Association (NHK) reported that someone affiliated with the Chinese Communist military’s “Unit 61419” had instructed the Chinese male to enter Japan and rent a server, also under a false name. Japanese police believe it is highly likely that the Chinese hacker group was taking orders from the Chinese Communist military to conduct organized cyber attacks.
NHK said the two Chinese who rented the server in Japan have both left the country. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department has confirmed the illegal activity and sent the charges against one of the Chinese Communist Party members to prosecution in writing on Tuesday.
A JAXA spokesman confirmed it was unauthorized access and appeared to be a cyber attack, but no damage was done, the report said.
Nikkei Asian Review reported that police believe the cyberattack was aimed at obtaining confidential information for the Chinese Communist government. Japan urged Japanese companies and institutions targeted to remain vigilant for further cyber espionage and to audit their networks to prevent sabotage.
“Unit 61419 is part of the Chinese Communist military’s Cyber Systems Department, which is responsible for information intelligence and cyber espionage activities. “Unit 61398, Unit 61786 and Unit 61486 are also part of this ministry.
In May 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against five Chinese military cyber spies belonging to the Shanghai-based Chinese Communist Party’s Unit 61398.
Japan’s Cyber Attacks Surge Last Year
Japan has been seeking to strengthen its cyber defense capabilities in recent months, and NHK reports that according to official data, Japan identified 6,506 suspicious accesses related to cyber attacks last year, the most ever in five years, a fourfold increase from 1,692 in 2016.
Last year, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation’s corporate network was subjected to a massive cyber attack, and it is understood that the personal information of more than 8,000 people, as well as information on defense equipment under development, may have been leaked.
It is also understood that NEC’s internal servers were illegally accessed and information on about 28,000 files may have been leaked.
According to officials, a group of Chinese (Communist Party of China) hackers is said to have been involved in both attacks, which are believed to have targeted departments with inadequate security measures and sophisticated attack techniques.
In addition, there are many cases of cyber attacks that have not been made public because of the need to protect confidential information, and there are many cases of damage that have not been exposed.
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