Kintetsu World Express disrupted by ransomware intrusion

Major Japanese global freight forwarding company Kintetsu World Express had some of its systems disrupted by a ransomware attack last week, resulting in service interruptions for certain customers, reports The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Additional details regarding the incident, the perpetrator of which remains unknown, were not provided. However, KWE said the efforts to recover impacted systems and an investigation to determine potential data compromise are underway. Such a disclosure, which follows a year after hundreds of KWE clients had their data claimed to have been stolen by the 888 hacking group, comes amid increased cyberattacks against organizations across Japan. At least 46 Japanese firms were reported by Trend Micro to have been compromised in cyberattacks since late 2024, including leading mobile carrier NTT Docomo and media conglomerate Kadokawa. Threat actors have also targeted watchmaker Casio, as well as financial entities Mizuho Bank, Resona Bank, and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank over the past 12 months.