Japan

Pierluigi Paganini April 24, 2015
48,000 Windows XP PCs are still running at TEPCO … which are the risks?

Which is the impact of the Windows XP End of Life on the critical infrastructure? Recently a Government audit found 48,000 XP PCs still running at TEPCO. One year ago the end of life for Microsoft Windows XP raised a heated debate on security for all the infrastructure that still adopt the popular OS. Windows XP […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 18, 2015
25 billion Cyberattacks hit systems in Japan during 2014

The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology revealed that more than 25 billion cyberattacks hit  systems in Japan during 2014. I decided to write this post to highlight the importance of a cybersecurity posture for any government. When the majority of people thinks to cybersecurity, has no idea of principal cyber threats and their […]

Pierluigi Paganini June 14, 2014
BKDR_VAWTRAK malware uses Windows feature to defend itself

The malware specialists at Trend Micro noticed that malicious agent BKDR_VAWTRAK is abusing a Windows feature SRP to prevent victims’ defense systems. Experts at Trend Micro have discovered that Japanese Internet users are being infected by a trojan, dubbed BKDR_VAWTRAK, which uses Windows to try to defeat security software on infected machines. Like many other […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 10, 2014
Malware based attack hit Japanese Monju Nuclear Power Plant

IT administrator at Monju Nuclear Power Plant discovered that a malware-based attack infected a system in the reactor control room. On January 2nd one of the eight computers in the control room at Monju Nuclear Power Plant was compromised. An IT administrator has discovered that the system in the reactor control room had been accessed over […]

Pierluigi Paganini September 27, 2013
Icefog – Kaspersky discovered the group of cyber mercenaries

Kaspersky Lab discovered the emerging group of cyber-mercenaries Icefog available for hire to perform surgical hit and run operations against strategic targets. Researchers at Kaspersky Lab sustain to have identifies a group of cyber mercenaries called Icefog that is responsible for a huge cyber espionage campaign, occurred in 2011, against Japanese parliament and dozens of government agencies and […]

Pierluigi Paganini May 19, 2013
Yahoo Japan suspects 22 million user IDs stolen

Yahoo Japan Corp is investigating on a possible data breach that may have exposed 22 million user IDs stolen during an unauthorized access to web portal. Yahoo Japan Corp is investigating on a possible data breach that exposed the user IDs of 22 million accounts, another shocking event that raise the necessity to improve security […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 17, 2013
Zeus hit five major banks in Japan

Zeus malware is considered the most popular and prolific malicious code for banking, it is one of the privilege agent by cybercrime the use to sell various customized version in the underground to conduct sophisticated frauds. Security community has found it in different occasion and anyway it was a surprice, the malware has evolved in […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 05, 2013
Confidential documents from Japanese politics stolen by malware

Last December Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency was hit again by malware  that stolen secret information on newest rockets from an internal computer, it was not first time for the Japanese agency that was already victim of a cyber attack having same purpose, cyber espionage to obtain information on another technological advanced project related to the […]

Pierluigi Paganini December 03, 2012
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency hit again by malware

The New Your Times has recently published the news the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency was hit by a virus that stolen secret information on newest rockets from an internal computer. The precious information was stored from a computer in Tsukuba Space Center located in northeast area of Tokyo, where it has been detected a malware that […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 25, 2012
Japan institutions victim of cyber espionage, is it cyber warfare?

One of the biggest cyber threat is cyber espionage, it’s the sign of the technological era in which every devices surround has an intelligence component that could be exploited. Governments first, cyber criminal after, have discovered the great efficiency of malware used to steal sensible information to the victims, no matter if we are speaking […]