Damage from recent spate of data breaches targeting big-name brands serious at Sony with Google also having been attacked
| FOREIGN STAFF |
Published: 2011/06/07 07:15:09 AM |
NINTENDO was targeted in a recent online attack, but no personal or company information was lost, the Japanese maker of the Wii console said yesterday .
The server of an affiliate of Nintendo’s US unit was accessed unlawfully a few weeks ago, but there was no damage, company spokesman Ken Toyoda said.
"There were no third-party victims," Mr Toyoda said, though he declined to elaborate. "But it is a fact there was some kind of possible hacking attack."
The damage from a recent spate of such data breaches targeting big-name brands was more serious at rival Sony, and Google also said it had been attacked several times.
Sony said personal information, including e-mail addresses, names and birth dates, and involving more than 100-million users, is suspected of having been stolen after security was compromised in April for its network service for the PlayStation 3 game machine, for other online services and, in the past week, from Sony Pictures’ website.
It is still unclear who is behind the attacks at Sony or Nintendo, which is based in Kyoto.
Hackers called Lulz Security recently to boast that they had compromised more than 1-million users’ personal information.
China has been accused by the US, Canada and other nations of spearheading online attacks on government agencies as well as companies, though the government has always denied this.
Tokyo-based Sony has said it is strengthening security measures. It has contacted the FBI and other authorities for an investigation into the cyber attacks.
In Singapore yesterday, China’s defence minister denied that Beijing was behind any internet attacks on foreign targets and echoed US-British calls for international talks to toughen up cybersecurity.
"It is hard to attribute the real source of attacks and we need to work together to make sure that this security problem won’t be a problem," Defence Minister Liang Guanglie said. "Actually, in China we have also suffered quite a wide range and frequency of cyber attacks. The Chinese government attaches importance also to cyber- security and stands firmly against all kinds of cybercrimes."
Internet giant Google last week said a cyber-spying campaign originating in China had targeted Gmail accounts of senior US officials, military personnel, journalists and Chinese political activists.
The US on Friday said it had highlighted Google’s concerns with Beijing, but the Chinese government has described any suggestion that it was behind the attack as "unacceptable".
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and British Defence Secretary Liam Fox underscored the urgency of the problem, but avoided singling out Beijing as being the source of cyber attacks.
"I think that one of the things that would be beneficial would be for there to be a more open dialogue among countries about cyber (threats) ," Mr Gates said.
Mr Fox said Britain would host an international conference on what he called the "war of the invisible enemy" later this year.
The talks in London will include discussions on a potential legal framework, he said.
US aerospace giant Boeing said on Friday on the sidelines of the Singapore conference that it was under "continuous" cyber attack, but that there had been no breach of its databases.
Chinese hackers have also been accused of attacking sites that are critical of Beijing, with a US legislator in April urging Washington to protect a popular activist site after it was hit by hackers who were apparently upset at a petition to free detained artist Ai Weiwei.
"It is important for everyone to obey or follow laws and regulations in terms of cybersecurity," said Mr Liang, who joined calls for global co-ordination to deal with the issue . Sapa-AFP-AP
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