Hackers Target Iconic Japan’s Toshiba Rival Hoya With Ransomware
Hackers Target Iconic Japan’s Toshiba Rival Hoya With Ransomware
By Daniele Lepido
21 April 2021, 14:39 BST
Astro Team hacking group says it stole 300 gigabyte of data
Emsisoft says 1,300 organizations globally were hit last year
Hoya offices in Tokyo.
Hoya offices in Tokyo. Photographer: Everett Kennedy Brown/EPA/Shutterstock
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7741
HOYA CORP
13,075.00JPY+130.00+1.00%
6502
TOSHIBA CORP
4,465.00JPY+55.00+1.25%
3677532Z
EMSISOFT
Private Company
JPY
Japanese Yen Spot
107.8700JPY-0.0100-0.0093%
A group of hackers executed a ransomware attack on Hoya Corp, marking the second successful attack suffered by the Japanese firm in two years.
”We can confirm that Hoya Vision Care US has experienced a cyberattack. Based on our initial forensics, the disruption appears to have been limited to our United States systems,” a Hoya spokesperson said. “After identifying the threat, we quickly took action to contain it and contacted law enforcement. The company has engaged external experts to determine the nature and scope of this event. We will provide updates as more information becomes available.”
Hoya, named after the West Tokyo neighborhood where it was founded in 1941, is a glassmaker with about 37,000 employees worldwide and about $5 billion in annual revenue. The company gets last year 65% of its sales from contact lenses and glasses, while the rest comes Information technology devices and services such glass substrate used in the manufacturing of semiconductors and hard disk drives, according to 2020 company’s report.
The hacker group called Astro Team said on its blog last week that it targeted Hoya servers and stole about 300 gigabytes of confidential corporate data including finance, production, email messages, passwords and safety reports.
In 2019, Hoya suffered a major cyberattack, infectong over 100 computers and forcing the company to shut down its factories for three days.
”Ransomware attacks are more disruptive than ever and companies not only have to deal with the encryption of their data, but also the theft and possible release of it,” Brett Callow, a threat analyst for Emsisoft said in an interview. It’s an increasingly common problem with more than 1,300 public and private sector organizations globally having had their data stolen and posted online last year, he added.
In late 2019 Hoya offered to spend as much as 147.7 billion yen ($1.36 billion) for NuFlare Technology Inc., seeking control of the Toshiba Corp. affiliate in a rare hostile takeover bid among Japanese companies. Despite it’s higher offer, Hoya was beat by Toshiba that in January of last year succeeded in its tender offer to buy out other shareholders of NuFlare and take the unit private.
By Daniele Lepido
21 April 2021, 14:39 BST
Astro Team hacking group says it stole 300 gigabyte of data
Emsisoft says 1,300 organizations globally were hit last year
Hoya offices in Tokyo.
Hoya offices in Tokyo. Photographer: Everett Kennedy Brown/EPA/Shutterstock
LISTEN TO ARTICLE
2:13
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Share
Tweet
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In this article
7741
HOYA CORP
13,075.00JPY+130.00+1.00%
6502
TOSHIBA CORP
4,465.00JPY+55.00+1.25%
3677532Z
EMSISOFT
Private Company
JPY
Japanese Yen Spot
107.8700JPY-0.0100-0.0093%
A group of hackers executed a ransomware attack on Hoya Corp, marking the second successful attack suffered by the Japanese firm in two years.
”We can confirm that Hoya Vision Care US has experienced a cyberattack. Based on our initial forensics, the disruption appears to have been limited to our United States systems,” a Hoya spokesperson said. “After identifying the threat, we quickly took action to contain it and contacted law enforcement. The company has engaged external experts to determine the nature and scope of this event. We will provide updates as more information becomes available.”
Hoya, named after the West Tokyo neighborhood where it was founded in 1941, is a glassmaker with about 37,000 employees worldwide and about $5 billion in annual revenue. The company gets last year 65% of its sales from contact lenses and glasses, while the rest comes Information technology devices and services such glass substrate used in the manufacturing of semiconductors and hard disk drives, according to 2020 company’s report.
The hacker group called Astro Team said on its blog last week that it targeted Hoya servers and stole about 300 gigabytes of confidential corporate data including finance, production, email messages, passwords and safety reports.
In 2019, Hoya suffered a major cyberattack, infectong over 100 computers and forcing the company to shut down its factories for three days.
”Ransomware attacks are more disruptive than ever and companies not only have to deal with the encryption of their data, but also the theft and possible release of it,” Brett Callow, a threat analyst for Emsisoft said in an interview. It’s an increasingly common problem with more than 1,300 public and private sector organizations globally having had their data stolen and posted online last year, he added.
In late 2019 Hoya offered to spend as much as 147.7 billion yen ($1.36 billion) for NuFlare Technology Inc., seeking control of the Toshiba Corp. affiliate in a rare hostile takeover bid among Japanese companies. Despite it’s higher offer, Hoya was beat by Toshiba that in January of last year succeeded in its tender offer to buy out other shareholders of NuFlare and take the unit private.
