Japan is preparing to strengthen its cybersecurity defences by forming a team that will use artificial intelligence to simulate cyberattacks and identify weaknesses in technology systems. The move comes as organisations worldwide respond to critical vulnerabilities in PHP, a programming language widely used to power websites.
The security flaws triggered millions of hacking attempts this week, forcing government agencies and businesses across several countries to temporarily shut down online services or take urgent steps to protect their systems.
The disruption also affected Japan’s emergency communication infrastructure. Mobile carrier SoftBank announced on Friday that it was suspending its emergency alert system while carrying out maintenance to address a PHP vulnerability. During this period, customers will not receive early warnings about earthquakes, tsunamis, disasters or evacuation instructions through the system.
Japanese Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa stressed the need for organisations to think like attackers when strengthening their defences.
“An attack can succeed by getting through just one hole … for that reason it’s important we shift our mindset and think from the perspective of the attacker,” Akazawa said on Friday.
He added, “Defenders also need to make use of AI and respond proactively, staying one step ahead.”
The vulnerabilities have triggered emergency shutdowns of banking, airline, railway, tax and government services in cities ranging from Tokyo to Helsinki. The incident has highlighted the security risks associated with widely used web technologies that have supported internet infrastructure for decades.
In Japan, several major companies temporarily suspended online services as a precaution. These included brokerage Nomura, lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, airline ANA and East Japan Railway (JR East). The Ministry of Finance, National Tax Agency and Meteorological Agency also suspended some online services.
JR East said on Friday that some services had resumed, while others would return once their safety was confirmed. Nippon Paint also applied a security patch as a precaution and restored its website.
Eva Chen, CEO of cybersecurity company Trend Micro, said Japanese businesses could be attractive targets because of the detailed records they maintain. She noted that AI has reduced language barriers for attackers and suggested that Japan had become too comfortable with its existing technology infrastructure.
Cybersecurity experts have warned that AI is making cybercrime faster and easier to carry out. Attackers can use it to automate vulnerability scanning, develop phishing campaigns and identify weaknesses in systems, making threats harder to detect.
The developers of PHP, a programming language used alongside technologies such as HTML and Python, released security fixes on Wednesday. The vulnerabilities had remained undetected for years before being identified with the help of AI.
The developers urged users to “update immediately” to address the security risks.
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