JAXA under cyber attack. The safety of the space program is a concern

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) revealed this week that it suffered a cyberattack this summer following a Microsoft Active Directory (AD) breach, news that has raised concerns about potential pirate interest. computer scientists linked to foreign governments for data from the Japanese space program.

Microsoft's security problem

The original issue was identified in the agency's AD environment, the central server that manages access control to JAXA's network, including administration passwords for enterprise applications. However, this is not the first time a Microsoft component has suffered an information breach. Indeed, earlier this year, US Senator Ron Wyden asked CISA, the Department of Justice and the FTC to hold Microsoft responsible for a breach of Microsoft 365 due to three vulnerabilities in its Exchange email service Online and in Azure Active Directory.

Act of state cyber espionage?

The breach raises questions about the exposure of Japan's space program. Indeed, JAXA has been the subject of cyber attacks in the past, in 2016 and 2017, when it was reportedly targeted, along with 200 other Japanese research institutions and companies, by hackers linked to the Chinese military, highlighting its potential vulnerability.

The future of cybersecurity in Japan

In response to the breach, JAXA shut down part of its network and launched a comprehensive investigation to determine the extent of the breach and its impact. The agency is working with the central government and police forces to manage the situation. This will also serve to strengthen cyber security measures to mitigate future risks, given that such attacks are not likely to stop in the near future.