TOKYO -- International hacker group Anonymous has resumed cyberattacks against Japanese companies, in an apparent protest against the resumption of dolphin and whale hunting in the western Japanese town of Taiji.
According to data compiled by SoftBank Technology investigating Anonymous' activity, the attacks began on Sept. 3, immediately after the annual hunting season began. The Sept.-April season is imposed by the local government of Wakayama Prefecture.
A self-proclaimed member of Anonymous claimed responsibility on twitter for 51 attacks through early Thursday morning, 23 more than the 28 attacks claimed from Sept. 1, to Oct. 27 last year.
Most Anonymous cyberattacks involve distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attack, an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. The websites of Information-technology Promotion Agency, the Osaka-based logistics company Nankai Express, a food-processing company and restaurants have all been attacked.
In September, the website of Osaka-based Yomiuri-TV Enterprise, which manages music and other content copyright, was subject to unauthorized access.
The companies and organizations affected are not involved in dolphin hunting.
(Nikkei)
