Maritime Computer Emergency Response Team ADMIRAL dataset ADMIRAL dataset

Publicly disclosed information for this event

Index Number:
Title:
2011_003
Cyberattack targeting a major industrial defence contractor.
Day Month Year Country Activity Incident Type
11 August 2011 Japan Industry Intrusion

Summary

The victim is Japan's largest defense contractor. The company is known for producing missiles, aicraft parts as well as naval assets.

According to sources, the company revealed that hackers had infiltrated its computer systems. The target of this intrusion seems to have been their submarine, missile, and nuclear power plant component factories. Around 80 virus-compromised computers were discovered at multiple locations, including their Tokyo headquarters and various manufacturing and R&D sites. Notably, the attack corresponds to activities associated with cyber threats that other global defense contractors, amongst others in the U.S., faced around that time.

While the company spokesman emphasized that crucial data related to products or technologies remained secure, there was an admission that certain system information like IP addresses had been leaked. There's a potential, though considered minimal, for further information breaches. Various computer viruses, including the Trojan horse which is known for stealing vital information, were identified within its primary offices and production locations.

Victim

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Claimed/Reported Threat Actor

N/A

Origin

Undisclosed

Main impact

Confidentiality

References

  1. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mitsubishiheavy-computer-idUSTRE78I0EL20110919

Recommendations to Industry to reduce Intrusion risks:

  • Implement strong access controls and authentication mechanisms to limit unauthorized access, such as Multi Factor Authentication.
  • Regularly update and patch software and systems to address known vulnerabilities.
  • Use Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) to monitor and block suspicious activities.
  • Segment your network to limit lateral movement by attackers in case of a breach.
  • Educate your employees about phishing attacks and social engineering tactics to prevent credential theft.
Previous Next
Disclaimer: the data are provided as is. France Cyber Maritime and the M-CERT take no responsibility for the soundness, quality, precision, nor the eventual attribution made by the referenced URLs. We give a lot of respect and support to the victims of attacks.
Files generated on Monday, 11th December 2023.
ADMIRAL is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license. Copyright © France Cyber Maritime 2023.