Did a prototype missile leak when Mitsubishi was hacked

Atlas Missile

Hypersonic Missile

Japan has launched an extensive investigation into the potential exposure of confidential missile data following the massive cyber attack suffered by Mitsubishi Electric Corp. According to Associated Press, a leak of information about a prototype missile "high-tech" is suspected by the Japanese authorities, who have placed themselves in a state of maximum alert.

The missile, a speed glider known as the "HGV" code, was to be presented by the Japanese company Mitsubishi and other manufacturers as part of a tender. The Japanese media reported that Mitsubishi finally did not win the tender, which does not seem to have stopped the cybercriminals behind the hacking of the Japanese giant. Secretary of State Yoshihide Suga said the Japanese Ministry of Defence was analysing "the possible impact of information leakage on national security".

These weapons could indeed be used as a deterrent in the low-intensity conflict between Tokyo and Beijing in the China Sea. The cyber-attack took place on June 28, 2019, but was only made public this year. The Japanese technology giant said that about 200 MB of files were stolen, but it is believed that this concerns mainly staff members.

A Chinese group suspected

Mitsubishi management has recognized the cyber-attack and potential theft of data belonging to approximately 8,000 people. In addition, the company informed the Ministry of Defense of the potential exposure of sensitive information. The investigation is ongoing. T.he editorial staff of Today US  previously learned that the intrusion was made possible by the use of a "zero-day" vulnerability in the antivirus software Trend Micro Officescan. The vulnerability has since been corrected.

A Chinese cyber-espionage group called Tick - also known as Bronze Butler - was made responsible for the attack.

If exploiting a "zero-day" vulnerability was potentially the key to successful cyber-attack, there are other methods that are much more common in security incidents today. According to Verizon’s investigation report on data breaches of 2020, unsecured storage in the cloud, the use of stolen identifiers and phishing attacks are often the attack vectors involved in modern data breaches.