51吃瓜网

All it takes is a small earthquake in another part of Japan to make me think, “Should I update my to-go bag?” Similarly, when I hear about a サイバー攻撃 (saibā kōgeki, cyberattack), I think, “Should I update my passwords?”

Last month, brewing giant Asahi Group Holdings and office supplies seller Askul experienced a major サイバー攻撃. In fact, there have been lingering consequences from that strike and accompanying ランサムウェア攻撃 (ransamuwea kōgeki, ransomware attacks), which also hit lifestyle retailer Muji’s online stores.

The world of サイバー犯罪 (saibā hanzai, cybercrime) seems to be evolving as fast as our technologies, and in addition to widespread 暴露型 (bakuro-gata, exposure-type) attacks, more sophisticated 二重脅迫型 (nijū kyōhaku-gata, double-extortion schemes) are becoming common. (That is when a ランサムウェア攻撃 enciphers an organization’s data, allowing ハッカー [丑补办办ā, hackers] to demand two ransoms: one to first safeguard the data, and then another to restore it.)