Global finance falls victim to China's spyware campaign

TOKYO -- U.S. and German investigative and intelligence agencies issued grave warnings in recent months that Chinese government-mandated tax software contains malware, which enables backdoor access into the applications that install it.

If the allegations are true, local units of foreign companies operating in China as well as global financial institutions will be exposed to the risk. But, while some countries are taking urgent steps to mitigate this risk, Japan's public and private sectors seem to be slow in taking action to protect its financial institutions and companies.