Koka City: ransomware on its voice broadcast server; names of terminal owners may have leaked

Koka City said on 12 November that ransomware hit the server of its voice broadcast system, which reaches homes and businesses through terminals and outdoor speakers, and that both are unusable. Names or business names of terminal owners may have leaked and are being checked. The Chunichi Shimbun reported that the system stopped early on 11 November, the national J-Alert test broadcast at 11:00 was cancelled, and ransomware was found at 18:45. About 25,000 records are involved; a local cable TV company maintains the server under contract. The prefectural police are investigating. [1] [2]

Emergency alerts, paging broadcasts, obituary notices and the scheduled melody broadcasts are also stopped, with no recovery date. Emergency information goes out through the city’s LINE account, emergency email, TV, radio and the Shiga disaster app. [1]