Hacker Group Claims to Be Behind Nichirei Cyberattack

Tokyo, July 22 (Jiji Press)–A hacker group calling itself “RansomHouse” has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that disrupted the operations of Japanese frozen food maker Nichirei Corp., it was learned Wednesday. Nobuo Miwa, president of information security service provider S&J Corp., said he had confirmed a statement posted by the group on the dark web, a highly anonymous part of the internet. According to Miwa, the group claimed that it had stolen internal data from Nichirei. RansomHouse is known for regularly using ransomware as its primary attack method. In ransomware attacks, perpetrators use malware to encrypt data and demand payment to restore access. It also issued a statement claiming responsibility when office and household goods supplier Askul Corp. was hit by a cyberattack last year that took down the company’s system. On July 13 this year, Nichirei said that unauthorized access had caused system failures. It later said that its servers had been the target of a cyberattack. The attack disrupted operations at the Nichirei group companies’ refrigerated warehouses and frozen food shipments, affecting restaurants, supermarkets and school lunch programs. The group has gradually resumed operations in stages since Friday. Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan Ltd. said Wednesday that operations returned to normal at all outlets after some stores had to shorten business hours and limit menu offerings as a result of the disruption. The fast food chain contracts out the transportation of food materials to a Nichirei group company. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]