Japan's Defence Chief Urges Probe Into Hacker Attack on Telecom Giant Amid Data Leak Fears

TOKYO (Sputnik) - Japan’s Defence Minister Taro Kono has called for thoroughly investigating a hacker attack on a national telecom giant after media reports that data related to communications networks involving armed forces could have been compromised.

"NTT Communications has informed us about this. We would like them to conduct a thorough investigation," Kono said at a press conference, as quoted by the Kyodo news agency.

Speaking at the news conference, Kono stressed the importance of businesses sticking to highest cybersecurity rules.

"We want to make sure that they comply with all the rules established by the Defense Ministry to avoid leaks," the minister said in a reference to the recent increase in cyberattacks on companies involved in the defence industry sector.

On Thursday, Kyodo reported, citing sources, that NTT Communications was subjected to a cyberattack earlier in May, as a result of which data concerning communications networks of the Japan Self-Defence Forces could have been leaked.

In total the hackers received unauthorised access to over 100 data files, all of them allegedly linked to firms linked to the ministry. According to Kyodo, the compromised data does not appear to be secret, but leaks still may undermine the communications network.

The company later said that data regarding 621 client companies might have been leaked. The ministry refrained from commenting on whether defence data might have been compromised.

Earlier in May, media reported that hackers during an attack on Mitsubishi Electric in January might have obtained data concerning research on a supersonic glide missile.