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Following a series of hacking and data breach incidents targeting core administrative networks and major private companies in Japan, national and public university computer networks have now been paralyzed, leading to the complete suspension of classes.
Criticism is mounting that lax cybersecurity systems are causing repercussions extending beyond the public and private sectors into educational institutions.
A massive disruption occurred in the core computer systems of Osaka Metropolitan University starting early this morning (October 2), completely paralyzing its official website and academic management system.
Consequently, the university abruptly canceled all classes scheduled for the day and suspended operations.
Fortunately, no disruptions were found in the university-affiliated hospital system, and medical treatments proceeded normally.
However, the university has yet to identify the cause of the failure and remains unaware of when recovery will be possible.
Japan has recently experienced a series of cybersecurity incidents.
On September 29, Japan's largest car-sharing company, Times Car, announced that 6.6 million records of user personal information had been leaked, causing widespread repercussions.
In particular, concerns over secondary crimes such as identity theft have grown as the leaked items included 1.6 million images of identification cards, including driver's licenses.
The public and industrial sectors have also been left defenceless against hacking and data leaks.
In July, the government's internal network, the Government Solution Service, suffered an unauthorized intrusion, compromising the personal information of approximately 246,000 public officials.
Previously, a mobile game service operated by the IT company Line Yahoo suffered an incident where about 7.1 million user data records were leaked externally, while private companies such as Asahi Group experienced disruptions in product manufacturing and shipping due to ransomware attacks.
Experts point out that compared to the demand for digital transformation in Japan, investment in security and the expansion of specialized personnel are severely lacking, leaving even public and academic institutions vulnerable to threats.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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