HackersHackers infiltrate Japan’s parliament

In the latest round of high-profile cyberattacks on government institutions around the world, three computers in Japan’s parliament were infected with a virus and officials worry that sensitive information may have been stolen.

According to Osamu Fujimura, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, hackers infiltrated the personal computers of three members of the lower house and possibly a computer server as well.

Fujimura declined to give further details, but local media has reported that the virus may have stolen log-in information and emails after one of the MPs opened an email attachment containing malicious code three months ago.

The latest revelation comes a month after Japanese defense contractors revealed that they had been subject to attacks that may have been aimed at stealing classified military data.

The contractors were uncertain if the hackers were successful in stealing any data, but U.S. defense officials are concerned as the defense contractors included Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which helps produce advanced American weapons systems like the F-15 fighter jet.

It is still unclear where the cyberattacks originated from, but an investigation by Japanese authorities found that the attacks were launched using servers across China, Hong Kong, the United States, and other nations.

Officials believe the attacks came from China, especially after investigators found digital traces of the attacks that were written in simplified Chinese characters used in mainland China.
China has staunchly insisted that it had no part in the earlier attacks.

Japanese officials have made no comment on the origin of the latest attacks or what the hackers were searching for.

Authorities are still investigating the latest data breach.