TOKYO – A record 123 cases of ransomware attacks were reported in the first half of this year, while suspicious access detected at police internet connection points averaged a record 13,687 attempts per IP address per day, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
The number of access attempts, often conducted in preparation for cyberattacks, was up more than 4,000 from the same period a year earlier, highlighting the growing severity of cyber threats.
The agency has compiled half-year statistics on ransomware, in which attackers demand payment in exchange for restoring access to company data made unavailable via encryption, since the second half of 2020.
Of the reported cases in the first six months of the year, 79 targeted small and medium-sized companies, 31 targeted large corporations and the remaining 13 targeted other types of organizations. By sector, manufacturing accounted for the most cases at 37.
Recovery often took over a month and was costly, with virtual private network equipment being the most common infection route.
The agency has so far recovered 20.11 million files using a tool it developed to restore data encrypted by ransomware. The tool has been provided to the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, or Europol, for use in countries worldwide.
Police issued 50,213 warnings in replies to social media posts suspected of recruiting people for illegal part-time jobs, up 14,576 from the same period a year earlier. The agency is advancing efforts to use artificial intelligence for detection and warnings.
Phishing emails designed to steal credit card numbers and other information totaled 731,000, down 465,000 from a year earlier. An analysis of phishing emails over the past year found that China was the biggest estimated source, accounting for 45 percent.
Police confirmed 127 cases of business email scams, in which perpetrators impersonate executives to convince corporate employees to make transfers, with losses totaling about 3.88 billion yen ($25 million).
Unauthorized online banking transfers totaled 253 cases, with losses amounting to around 2.07 billion yen.
Police have also taken action in 7,607 cybercrime cases, up 982 from a year earlier, of which 1,945 were related to money laundering.
