Dec 09 (newsonjapan.com) - In our digital world today, the internet has brought many benefits, increasing the visibility of businesses and allowing for the smooth running of large organizations.
However, the internet also poses risks to organizations and even government agencies. Japan is no exception.
According to research done by Ipsos on worldwide issue predictions, roughly 40% of Japanese respondents anticipated that one of their internet accounts would be hacked in 2020. More to the point, several Japanese government entities have recently experienced data breaches due to Fujitsu's "ProjectWEB" information exchange technology. ProjectWEB is a cloud-based file-sharing and collaboration tool for businesses.
Unfortunately, things may not get better. Businesses will continue to face cyber security challenges as long as they have an online presence. Having an up to date knowledge of how cybercriminals operate could prevent your business from becoming a victim. Below, we look at the recent hacking methods used by Japanese cybercriminals.
Recent Hacking Methods Used by Japanese Cybercriminals
While we may not cover all the hacking techniques Japanese cybercriminals use, we will review some popular ones. They include the following:
1. Phishing
Phishing is the activity of attempting to steal user information by disguising harmful content as reliable communication. It is perhaps the most widely utilized hacking technique in Japan today.
Victims are mostly targeted through emails. A cybercriminal might send an email posing to be someone known to the target. The email may request information from the target. When the victim tries to log in or enter information, the hacker intercepts the data and then attacks the victim using it.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents of phishing attacks have multiplied. Recent reports have listed phishing attacks as one of the commonest threats Japanese businesses face. Hence, any entity looking to beat these criminals needs to take phishing threats seriously.
2. Malware Upload
Japanese cybercriminals frequently exploit file upload vulnerabilities to transmit malware, obtain access to web servers, attack website visitors and host illegal materials. Hackers can also utilize file upload vulnerabilities to install trojan horses, malware, and other nefarious elements on your website.
Custom malware, including Backdoor.Hartip, are a new addition to tools used by cybercriminals in Japan to gain access and compromise the security of Japan-linked businesses.
When malware is in a victim's system, it can encrypt files, display fraudulent advertisements, redirect traffic, sniff data, and spread to all devices on the network. With the ever-growing Japan-tech industries, malware-related attacks are gaining notoriety.
3. Privilege Escalation
Japanese cybercriminals can exploit user accounts to take control of their networks by escalating the permissions of their operating system or software application.
This sort of hacking campaign targeted FileZen, a popular file-sharing network in Japan. The attackers took advantage of two vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities allowed the cybercriminals to run OS commands with elevated privileges.
Missing security updates, social engineering, and a variety of other approaches could be used by an attacker to execute privilege escalation.
4. Living off the Land (LotL) Tools
A Living off the Land (LotL) attack is a type of hack in which intruders take advantage of legitimate software and functionality in a system to carry out destructive acts. Living off the land enables Japanese cybercriminals to blend into the legitimate programs in the victim's network to perform attacks. For example, a threat group known as Cicada or Stone Panda used living-off-the-land tools to launch attacks against Japan-linked organizations in 2020.
Most LotL attacks by Japanese cybercriminals employ legitimate tools such as WMI(Windows Management Instrumentation), a user interface that allows you to access numerous Windows components. Others include PowerShell and PsExec.
5. Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of software that either locks you out of your computer or encrypts your data and holds it hostage until you pay the attacker a ransom.
In recent times, Ransomware has become a pretty popular threat in cybersecurity and a tool commonly used by Japanese cybercriminals. A lot of Japanese conglomerates have been forced to shut down partially because of suspected ransomware attacks.
6. Keystroke Injection Attack Tool
A Keystroke Injection Attack Tool (also known as a "Rubber Ducky") is a specifically built USB device that automatically runs code when plugged into a host computer. In an attack, criminals utilize open-source tools to bypass the keystroke injection protection available on some devices.
Japanese cybercriminals use keystroke injections to gain control of a victim's system. Keystroke Injection attacks are relatively inexpensive and straightforward. However, they are also difficult to detect and prevent.
Conclusion
Data security must be a crucial area to pay attention to when running a government agency or large business in Japan. Hackers are always interested in your data or money. However, proper training and education can reduce your threat landscape. We hope this article has
