"Breached by Japan's Diplomatic Network in China"... Strengthening Measures Following US Warning

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Diplomatic Missions Expert System Hacked
US Warned Since 2020, Demanded Security Enhancements

It has been revealed that the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs system, which exchanges diplomatic cables containing classified information, was hacked by China, resulting in a large-scale information leak.

According to multiple government officials cited by the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 5th, the United States warned Japan in the summer of 2020 that "China is spying on the network of Japanese diplomatic missions abroad."

Although the U.S. did not disclose the detailed contents of the leaked information or how it discovered the leak, it informed Japan that China was extensively monitoring diplomatic cables exchanged between the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japanese Embassy in Beijing.

Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Photo by Yonhap News

To address this issue, NSA Director Paul Nakasone visited Japan and held talks with senior Japanese officials and working-level personnel. Subsequently, Japan, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pushed forward inspections and reinforcements of security systems at the Ministry of Defense, National Police Agency, Public Security Intelligence Agency, and Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, sharing progress with the United States.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported, "It is extremely unusual for a diplomatic cable system, which requires especially high security among official documents, to be breached," adding that "the United States is deeply concerned." Diplomatic cables are created using special encryption and separate networks because they include classified information obtained by diplomats from foreign governments.

In this regard, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly declined to respond to Yomiuri's inquiries, including whether it suffered cyberattack damage. The Ministry's Information and Communications Division, which manages diplomatic cables, stated, "For reasons of information security, we will remain silent on this matter."

Meanwhile, in August last year, The Washington Post (WP) reported that "at the end of 2020, Japan's government classified information network was breached by Chinese hackers, exposing a large amount of information indiscriminately." However, at that time, Hirokazu Matsuno, Chief Cabinet Secretary and government spokesperson, dismissed the allegations, saying, "There is no confirmation that classified information held by the Ministry of Defense was leaked due to a cyberattack by Chinese hackers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.