Hacker group: Japan firms leave vulnerabilities unfixed | NHK WORLD-JAPAN News - NHKニュース

An international hacker group that has carried out cyberattacks on companies in and outside Japan has told NHK that it targets Japanese firms because they tend to leave system vulnerabilities unaddressed.

The Russia-linked group Qilin is said to have conducted ransomware attacks against many companies in Japan, including Asahi Group Holdings and a group company of Keio Corporation, since last year.

NHK asked questions to the hacker group after identifying its website and social media account with the help of an expert. The group provided answers in English.

Qilin called its attacks "business," and companies the group is believed to have threatened and received money from "clients." The group said the number of clients has been growing sharply over the past two years.

The group cited unfixed vulnerabilities in computer systems as a reason for targeting Japanese companies.

"You guys really hate updates," Qilin said. "And we could go on and on -- at every stage of our deep dive, we uncover old bugs. It's ridiculous and very strange. But it makes us money."

It said it spotted some uncorrected vulnerabilities made public five years ago.

It also said it will not disclose details of the method for its attacks, but that it uses AI it developed for some of them. It added that the number of attacks targeting Japanese organizations will continue to increase.

Sugiura Takayuki of the Japan Hackers Association says the group's view is one-sided.

He also says many Japanese companies leave system vulnerabilities, and that many of them have now been discovered by AI, making it impossible to protect systems without sufficient measures. He adds that the government should call on companies to take measures such as properly updating important servers.