Japan's top cybersecurity agency, NISC, suffered from a month-long security breach. The cyberattack, which allegedly was conducted by China, began in 2022 and was only identified this 2023. 

Japan Took 9 Months to Identify NISC Breach 

(Photo: Adam Berry/Getty Images) A participant checks a circuit board next to an oscilloscope on the first day of the 28th Chaos Communication Congress (28C3) - Behind Enemy Lines computer hacker conference on December 27, 2011, in Berlin, Germany.

According to the Firstpost's latest report, the latest breach against the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity is alarming. 

This is because NISC is Japan's cybersecurity agency that is responsible for safeguarding the national defenses of the country against cyber threats. 

Ironically, the cybersecurity organization fell victim to a major hack. Japan said that the incident happened in the autumn of 2022. 

It was only identified last June this 2023. NISC officials believe that the cybersecurity intrusion could have been orchestrated by state-backed hackers from China.

Security Affairs reported that the China-linked hackers behind the breach were able to gain access to sensitive data. 

This information was confirmed by three government and private sector sources who are familiar with the cybersecurity incident. 

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Seriousness of NISC Breach 

(Photo: JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images) An engineer from the Israeli company "Commun.it" used his expertise in social media commercial analysis to identify networks of fake users during at the group's office in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv on January 23, 2019. - A coalition of Israeli diplomats, programmers, and hackers have joined forces to stave off threats.

NISC warned that the email addresses of private companies it communicates might have been leaked during the breach period. 

But, officials clarified that they haven't received any report about the misuse of the possibly leaked information. 

The main issue here is that Japan is in the process of improving its military collaboration with regional partners and the U.S. 

Because of the latest China-linked cyberattack, security experts in the U.K. and the U.S. could raise more concerns regarding Japan's capability to securely manage sensitive data, especially information about military collaborations. 

How Japan Resolved the NISC Breach

 NISC said that it issued a series of email notifications to both international and domestic private and governmental partners. 

The notifications informed NISC's partners regarding the cybersecurity breach so that they could also protect their sensitive information. 

Aside from this, NISC also briefly suspended operations, as well as replaced affected equipment when the cyberattack was detected. 

As of press time, Japan is still having a hard time enhancing its cybersecurity. This is because its efforts are hindered by a shortage of personnel and expertise in the digital domain.  

If you want to learn more details about the major NISC security breach, you can click this link.  

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