Compare Cybersecurity risks in the U.S. to the risks in another country.

In the United States, some examples of cybersecurity threats are phishers, insiders, malware and spyware, etc. Phishing is when an attacker poses as a reputable company in order to retrieve information such as account logins, credit card numbers, etc. Insiders are usually employees who were trusted by their employers and used that trust to steal information from the company for personal gain. Spammers are the most common, they usually send unsolicited emails to individuals with malware links and  fake products to buy in order to retrieve information. Malware and spyware are viruses that can get put onto a system in various ways to disrupt an individual’s files, hardware, etc. Ransomware is also a really big threat in the United States and differs a bit from malware. Ransomware usually blocks access from a system or blackmails an individual until a fee is paid.

In Japan, most cyberattacks include spear phishing, ransomware, and botnets. Spear phishing is the same as phishing, but usually targets a single individual or a single group. Botnets are bot-network operators and usually they are used to take over a system as an attack. They can spread forms of phishing, spam, malware, and more. Japan also has reports of cyberattacks coming from other countries. In November of 2020, a Japanese company, Capcom, was targeted for a ransom fee of 1.1 billion yen or 10 million usd and they refused to pay up. This is not the only Japanese company to have been attacked. According to Thisanka Siripala in an article from thediplomat.com, other companies such as Honda, Canon, Yaskawa Electric, and more were targets of ransomware and malware. Honda was hit with the WannaCry virus in 2017. The virus affects computers with Windows operating systems and encrypts the data so it is inaccessible until a fee is paid.

Sources: https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/content/cyber-threat-source-descriptions

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2019/07/01/commentary/japan-commentary/cybersecurity-threat-looms-large-japan/ https://thediplomat.com/2020/12/japanese-companies-fall-victim-to-unprecedented-wave-of-cyber-attacks/