Cybersecurity firm sees surge in leak inquiries

A cybersecurity firm in Tokyo has been flooded with inquiries from businesses amid an increase in unauthorized accesses resulting in data leaks.

Josys, based in Tokyo's Minato Ward, says inquiries from businesses doubled in the July-September period from the previous quarter.

The firm monitors the dark web, a network of highly anonymous sites, to spot leaks of corporate accounts and other data. It then alerts and provides companies whose computer systems have apparently been hacked with services to take proper action.

According to a survey released in June by Josys, 96 percent of the 225 companies that make up the Nikkei stock index confirmed their data had been compromised over the past three years.

The company says the risk of cyberattacks escalates if companies fail to respond quickly.

Nishine Hirotaka, an executive officer, says an increasing number of Japanese firms have fallen victim to cyberattacks after AI removed language barriers. He says he expects a further rise in the number of such cases. He says once attackers gain access to a system, they gradually exfiltrate more and more information. He says companies need to detect such activity as close to real-time as possible, and immediately take measures to prevent more leaks.