Japanese Ransomware Attack Sets Record, 123 Cases in Six Months

JAKARTA - The number of ransomware attacks in Japan reached a record 123 cases in the first half of 2026. At the same time, suspicious access attempts to networks monitored by the police also rose to the highest level.

Kyodo News, quoted Thursday, September 10, reported that the Japanese National Police Agency recorded an average of 13,687 suspicious access attempts per IP address every day. This number increased by more than 4,000 compared to the same period last year.

Such activities are often carried out as the initial stage before a cyber attack.

Ransomware is an attack that encrypts or locks victim data. The perpetrator then asks for payment to restore access to the data.

Of the 123 cases reported between January and June, 79 targeted small and medium-sized companies. A total of 31 cases attacked large companies, while the other 13 cases targeted other organizations.

The manufacturing industry was the sector most affected by the attack with 37 cases.

System recovery in many cases takes more than a month and costs a lot of money. Virtual private network or VPN devices, a private network for accessing systems remotely, are the most frequently found entry points for attacks.

Japanese police have so far recovered 20.11 million files using a tool they developed to restore data encrypted by ransomware. The tool has also been given to Europol to be used in various countries.

The police also sent 50,213 warnings related to social media posts that allegedly recruited people for part-time jobs related to illegal activities. This number increased by 14,576 compared to the same period last year.

The police are now increasing the use of artificial intelligence to detect such uploads and issue warnings.

Meanwhile, the number of phishing emails, which are fake emails designed to steal data such as credit card numbers and other information, reached 731,000. The figure was down 465,000 from a year earlier.

Kyodo said that an analysis of phishing emails over the past year estimated that China was the largest source with a of 45 percent.

The police also confirmed 127 cases of fraud via business emails. In this mode, the perpetrator disguised himself as the company's leader and asked employees to transfer money. The total loss amounted to around 3.88 billion yen or 25 million US dollars.

In addition, there were 253 cases of online banking transfers without permission with a loss of around 2.07 billion yen.

Overall, the police handled 7,607 cybercrime cases in the first half of 2026, up 982 cases compared to the year. Of these, 1,945 cases were related to money laundering.

The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)