TOKYO: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, suffered unauthorized access multiple times from last autumn toward this year, even after the space agency took countermeasures following a cyberattack last June, it was learned Friday.

According to informed sources at the science ministry and JAXA, the hacks may have led to breaches of communications between the agency and external organizations with which it has confidentiality agreements, such as Toyota Motor Corp.

“We are not aware of any leaks of classified information,” science minister Masahito Moriyama said at a press conference Friday. “While there are concerns, I do not believe that a significant threat is posed.”

The fraudulent access targeted a JAXA server for the agency’s general business operations, the sources said. Sensitive information on the operations of rockets and satellites and on national security is stored in a separate system.

JAXA was hit in June 2023 with a cyberattack which exploited a vulnerability disclosed by a network equipment manufacturer. The agency took response measures last autumn such as cutting off its internal network from external connections, but unauthorized access incidents persisted.

JAXA was among the roughly 200 Japanese organizations targeted by cyberattacks in 2016 and 2017. The Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo referred to prosecutors in 2021 a member of the Chinese Communist Party in his 30s over allegedly using a false name to sign a contract for a server used in the attacks, but prosecutors decided to suspend indictment.

JIJI Press