TOKYO, Sept. 8, 2022—Pro-Putin Russian hackers, Killnet, have attacked and temporarily disabled the core Japanese government site, e-Gov, and the local tax collection/payment site, eLtax, Japanese media reports have said, quoting the National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity .
Killnet also hacked the Tokyo and Osaka subway public company websites, the reports said.
NISC’s website has no posting on the hacking.
The Japanese government is in the years-long process of having the entire population of 125 million to register for its My Number national on-line ID system for the ease of tax collection and other administrative procedures. Because of the government’s ineptitude and ignorance about cyber security, barely 30 percent of the public so far have signed on to it.
NISC, which supposedly is responsible for all cyber crimes, clearly is intentionally refraining from posting the Killnet hacking activities on its website out of concern that the Japanese public won’t register to My Number – which would link taxpayer information on assets, medical records, residence and all others with all government networks.
Prime minister’s residence, National Police Agency, and other government websites also were mum about the incident.
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Following is the Sept. 6, 2022 Kyodo News english article:
The Japanese government’s web portal e-Gov was hit by a cyberattack and became inaccessible Tuesday, its cybersecurity response center said, with a pro-Russian hacker group appearing to claim responsibility for the incident.
The National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity said the website came under a so-called DDoS attack, in which a network is overwhelmed by hackers sending floods of data from multiple sources over a short period. It became inaccessible from around 4:30 p.m. and remained disrupted into the night.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also reported that access to the eLTAX regional tax portal was impeded.
Around the time of the attack, pro-Russian hacker group Killnet posted a message on the Telegram messaging app claiming it had targeted Japan’s online public services and the tax authority’s electronic system.
Additionally, the hacker group also appeared to write that it was revolting against Japan’s “militarism,” and that it was kicking the samurai. The cybersecurity response center says the messages are highly likely to be a declaration of responsibility by the group.
Killnet is believed to have been behind a number of cyberattacks on websites belonging to countries supporting Ukraine during Russia’s invasion of it.
The e-Gov website’s functions include allowing people to apply to local governments for public services, collecting comment on specified issues, displaying laws and legal changes, and providing a directory to various government sites.
Sep 6, 2022 | KYODO NEWS
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