Japan's Lower House computer network hacked

A computer server used by Japan's Lower House lawmakers has been hacked. The House launched an investigation team on Tuesday.

Lower House officials say they were notified in late August that PCs connected to the chamber's computer network were infected with a virus. It was later found that PCs used by 3 lawmakers had been infected.

Officials also detected abnormalities with the computer network server, and found that its data had been made accessible from outside. They promptly disconnected the PCs and server from the network.

The server contained the IDs and passwords of about 2,700 people, including all Lower House lawmakers, their secretaries, and the chamber's staff members.

With the IDs and passwords, e-mail and other data inside the server could be illegally accessed.

Officials say no data leaks have been confirmed so far but they urged users to change their passwords as a precaution.

Meanwhile, no problem has been detected with the Upper House computer network.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 19:01 +0900 (JST)