Japan PM orders emergency measures amid wave of corporate cyberattacks

TOKYO, October 26 - In response to a surge of recent cyberattacks on Japanese businesses, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has announced plans to draft an emergency cybersecurity policy package. During an emergency cabinet meeting, Takaichi emphasized the seriousness of the situation, highlighting growing anxiety over potential misuse of leaked information and the urgent need to strengthen countermeasures. The government aims to compile the emergency package within the next week.

Artex, a Chinese artificial intelligence cybersecurity tool, has been implicated in several of the recent hacking incidents that targeted Japanese companies. GMO Internet Group Inc, a Japanese IT firm and the parent company of the information security arm that discovered the use of Artex, has also been a victim of an attack. A hacker demanded a ransom of US$50 million from GMO Internet Group, according to a statement from the company's founder and CEO Masatoshi Kumagai.

The AI-powered capabilities of tools like Artex, which aid in finding previously unknown vulnerabilities in computer systems, have come under intense scrutiny as leading cybersecurity labs release increasingly sophisticated models.