Arcadia Says Cyberattack Ongoing After 1.42 Million Suspicious Emails Sent

Arcadia, an Osaka-based company that distributes disaster information for local governments, is still under cyberattack, its president Seiichi Tenpaku said at a press conference in Tokyo on Friday, according to 産経ニュース. He said the company could suspend its distribution service again depending on how the situation develops. Tenpaku also disclosed that roughly 1.42 million suspicious emails had been sent from the company's systems.

Arcadia detected unauthorized access on October 11 to SpeeCAN RAIDEN, its service for sending disaster alerts to residents in bulk. The company shut down part of its servers on October 13, which disrupted some municipalities' ability to send disaster emails. Service was restored on October 15.

According to the company, a malicious program planted in its systems caused phishing emails to go out on October 13. These messages are designed to trick recipients into handing over personal information. The breach may have exposed about 3.13 million residents' email addresses.

Tenpaku expressed deep regret over the incident, 産経ニュース reported. He also said the attack has not stopped.

The case matters beyond Arcadia because the affected system carries official safety information to residents, and the leaked addresses could be used in further phishing attempts. INTERNET Watch has warned people not to follow links in emails or text messages that claim to concern the disaster-email leak.

What to watch next: whether Arcadia pauses distribution again, and whether authorities confirm the scope of the exposed data.