Cyberattacks via websites and apps targeting Japanese companies are surging. Cases have been identified in which autonomous attacks using AI carry out the process from intrusion to data theft in a short time, making AI-powered defenses an urgent priority.
Cyberattacks targeting publicly exposed entry points, including websites, cloud services and APIs for app integration, are reportedly increasing, particularly against Japanese companies. According to studies by information security companies and related organizations, cases are emerging in which publicly exposed entry points are directly exploited to gain access.
The misuse of artificial intelligence is behind these attacks. In the latest methods, AI agents automatically search for vulnerabilities in publicly available information around the clock and autonomously carry out the process from intrusion and privilege escalation through data selection and exfiltration.
Attack cycles that previously took several days to several weeks have now been dramatically shortened to several minutes to several hours. The targets of theft are also diverse, extending beyond credit card information to include human resources and employee information, while attackers' objectives are becoming more varied.
In light of this situation, companies are being urged to build AI-powered defensive systems as an urgent priority. There is growing recognition that monitoring reliant on human oversight and conventional security software alone will become increasingly difficult to use as a response.