Japan’s Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces (SDF) were targeted in a sophisticated cyberattack in September, presumably carried out by a state actor. Having penetrated the Ground Self-Defense Force’s computer system, likely to steal information from its high-capacity communication network connecting SDF bases and camps, further details of the theft are unclear. The Japanese government has been working with U.S. intelligence agencies on this issue since at least 2013, when it was first reported that North Korea had hacked into the computers used by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service
Japan’s Defense Ministry and Self-Defense Forces (SDF) were targeted in a sophisticated cyberattack in September, presumably carried out by a state actor. Having penetrated the Ground Self-Defense Force’s computer system, likely to steal information from its high-capacity communication network connecting SDF bases and camps, further details of the theft are unclear. A senior SDF official has called the case a “very serious situation”.