Hacker illegally accesses JR East Web site and alters part of system

[bill937ca]

A hacker has illegally accessed the Web site of East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) and altered part of the program managing the system, company officials said Wednesday.

 

Thousands of people who used its search function after the incident may have got their computers infected with a virus. The Tokyo-based railway operator has closed affected pages of its Web site to investigate the details of the problem.

 

A person who used the site's search function informed the company Monday evening that there was something wrong with the system, prompting the company to examine it.

 

The company subsequently confirmed that someone had illegally accessed its Web site from overseas on several occasions at around 1:10 a.m. on Sunday, and had altered the program controlling its search function.

 

Company officials said it has closed some affected pages on the site, including the company profile and information on its carriages and locomotives, while customers can still reserve train seats, buy tickets and confirm whether trains are operating on time on its Web site.

 

(Mainichi Japan) December 23, 2009

 

 

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[bikkuri bahn]

Apparently the virus is the Geno/Gumblar type.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumblar