Japan and South Korea face surge in AI-driven cyberattacks

Japan and South Korea are facing a significant cybersecurity crisis as a wave of sophisticated attacks targets major companies, potentially exposing the personal data of tens of millions of citizens. In Japan, more than 20 major companies, including JR East, SoftBank-owned IDC Frontier, and car-sharing service Times Car, have reported breaches. Notable incidents include the leak of 1.67 million email addresses from JR East and 6.6 million accounts from Times Car, which included images of driving licenses.

Authorities have declared a “state of emergency in cyber space,” with officials noting that attackers are increasingly using artificial intelligence to automate phishing, scan for vulnerabilities, and bypass traditional defenses. This AI-driven approach is lowering the barrier for criminals and making attacks harder to detect. In response, the Japanese Financial Services Agency has urged banks to move away from using traditional driving licenses for identity verification, recommending chip-based documents like passports or MyNumber cards instead.

Major electronics firms such as Hitachi, Fujitsu, and NEC are seeing increased demand for AI-powered cyberdefense services to help clients maintain business continuity. Meanwhile, the Japanese government is urging businesses to update security software, strengthen authentication, and tighten supply chain controls to mitigate the growing risk of identity theft and financial fraud.