Photo/Illutration A cyberattack shut down servers at Osaka General Medical Center at Osaka’s Sumiyoshi Ward on Nov. 17, 2022. (Provided by Osaka General Medical Center)

Police are warning companies and public entities to be on the alert and take safeguards as ransomware attacks in Japan jumped 57 percent from 2021 to 2022. 

In 2022, there were 230 ransomware attacks, up 84 from the previous year, according to data released by the National Police Agency on Feb. 2.

The number has been rising since record-keeping began in 2020, which saw 21 cases between July and December. There were 146 cases in 2021.

Hospitals, universities and large and small companies are among targets of ransomware attacks, where hackers encrypt data and demand payment to render them available again.

In many cases, criminals break into network systems via a virtual private network (VPN), which provides a protected network connection when using the internet, or a remote desktop protocol (RDP), a system that allows a user to connect to a computer in another location.

Police are urging organizations to keep updating their operating systems and VPN hardware devices to prevent hackers from taking advantage of vulnerabilities in their systems.

In 2022, the automobile industry fell prey to ransomware hacks, including Denso Corp., an affiliated supplier of Toyota Motor Corp., and Kojima Industries Corp., a partner of Toyota.

A cyberattack against Osaka General Medical Center in October 2022 disabled its medical record system and health care accounting software, resulting in the cancellation of outpatient appointments and non-urgent surgeries.

Hackers have targeted academic institutions as well, including Tokai National Higher Education and Research System, which operates Nagoya University and Gifu University. 

Attempted access by suspected hackers searching for vulnerabilities in a system jumped fourfold in the last five years, with police detecting a record daily high of 7,707.9 cases per monitoring point in 2022.

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