Askul to Resume Online Sales in Dec. at Earliest

Tokyo, Nov. 6 (Jiji Press)–Japanese office and household goods seller Askul Corp. said Thursday it will fully resume the service of its office supplies shopping website “Askul” for corporate customers as soon as early December, following a suspension caused by a cyberattack. After the service remained largely suspended since Oct. 19, the company has finally been able to establish an outlook for resuming order receipts through the website and shipments from its distribution centers. Since late October, Askul has been conducting trial shipments of 37 items, including copy paper and toilet paper. Ahead of the full-scale service resumption, the company will expand the scope of trial shipments to 237 items starting next Wednesday. Askul has no immediate plans for resuming the service of its consumer e-commerce website “Lohaco.” The company temporarily halted all order receipts and shipments due to a system failure caused by ransomware, a type of computer virus that encrypts data and demands ransom in exchange for decryption. The system glitch also affected companies that use Askul-affiliated logistics firms, including “Muji” brand household goods seller Ryohin Keikaku Co. and sundry goods retailer Loft Co. Askul confirmed a leak of personal information, including clients’ names and email addresses, due to the cyberattack. A Russian hacker group has claimed responsibility for the attack. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]