Japan: Police suspect Chinese behind cyberattack, cyberespionage plot
Dec 28, 2021
Tokyo [Japan], December 28 : Japanese authorities on Tuesday said that they suspect a former student from China tried to illegally buy sophisticated computer security software sold in Japan for cyberattacks and cyberespionage.
The investigative sources suspect that the Chinese man was under the direction of a person linked to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) to buy the software using the name of a fictitious company, reported NHK World.
Police suspect that China tried to obtain information on security measures taken by Japanese firms in a bid to find vulnerabilities in order to launch cyberattacks against them.
Sources said that the former student, who is in his 30s, allegedly tried to buy the software containing advanced technology in 2016. Only companies in Japan are allowed to buy it.
But the attempt failed as the company that sells the software became suspicious and cancelled the deal, reported NHK World.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police questioned the former student on a voluntary basis, but later learned he had left Japan. The police obtained an arrest warrant for the man on suspicion of attempted fraud.
The authorities plan to ask the International Criminal Police Organization to put the Chinese suspect on an international wanted list, reported NHK World.
The fraud attempt is believed to be the latest allegedly involving the PLA. Japanese police discovered that hackers under the direction of the PLA carried out massive cyberattacks in 2016 against about 200 companies and institutions, including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and some defense-related companies.
The metropolitan police sent papers to prosecutors on a Chinese Communist Party member who had stayed in Japan on suspicion of renting a computer server that was used to launch the attacks under false names.
The investigative sources say that in the latest case, the person linked to PLA unit 61419, which specializes in cyberattacks, is suspected of having sent directions to the Chinese man in Japan using a communications app, reported NHK World.
Japanese authorities are concerned that the threat to security is growing as they suspect Beijing is behind major cyberattacks.
