BOOKOFF GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED

Cyberattacks are mounting across Japan and South Korea, forcing governments and companies to respond urgently. In Japan, unauthorized access has surged broadly across industries, hitting financial firms such as Daiwa Securities and Sompo Japan, retailers including Bookoff Group Holdings and Lawson, the restaurant chain Yakiniku King, and car-sharing operator Times Mobility. The impact was especially severe at IDC Frontier, a SoftBank subsidiary in the cloud business, where the attack left 495 contracted companies and local governments unable to view their websites or exposed their data. In South Korea, nine banks and large churches suffered cyberattacks that may have used AI tools, and U.S. cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said a 26-year-old suspect living in China most likely could not have carried out the attack without AI assistance. According to TrendAI, cybersecurity incidents involving organizations based in Japan from January through September this year have already surpassed the total for all of last year, with 86 cases in September, up about 18 percent from August and about 37 percent from July. Experts warn that the spread of AI is making it easier even for criminals without advanced skills to launch attacks, making cybercrime cheaper and more accessible.

A string of large-scale personal data leaks caused by unauthorized access is continuing. Book Off Group Holdings announced on the 9th that up to about 6.43 million pieces of member data were leaked as a result of unauthorized access, and Daiichikosho, which operates the karaoke chain Big Echo, also disclosed that roughly 8.72 million pieces of personal information may have been leaked. In both cases, the leaked information includes members' and customers' names, dates of birth, email addresses and phone numbers, and both companies said that as of the time of their announcements no misuse of the information by third parties had been confirmed, urging affected individuals to be wary of suspicious emails and phone calls. At Book Off, a subsidiary that manages member information was breached, while at Daiichikosho the system of an outsourcing contractor handling personal data management was hit by unauthorized access. Both companies commented, "We deeply apologize for causing our customers enormous worry and inconvenience," and are hurrying to implement measures to prevent a recurrence.