[News Terms] Japan's 'Uchuhanggong Yeongu Gaebal Gigu' Hit by Cyberattack

The 'Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA)' is a national research and development institution established by the Japanese government, modeled after the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The official name is 'National Research and Development Agency Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency,' commonly abbreviated in English as 'JAXA (ジャクサ (Jakusa)).'

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries launched the 43rd H2A rocket on November 29, 2020, at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.
[Photo by Kyodo/Yonhap News]

On October 1, 2003, under the National Research and Development Agency Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency Act, three organizations?the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL), an independent administrative institution, and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), a special corporation?were integrated to establish JAXA as an independent administrative institution under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

The headquarters is located at the former Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in Chofu City, Tokyo. JAXA operates five space centers: the Tsukuba Space Center, which manufactures rockets and satellites; the Tanegashima Space Center, a large rocket launch site; the Uchinoura Space Center, a small- and medium-sized rocket launch site; the Kagoshima Space Center; and the Tsunoda Space Center, along with numerous other space-related facilities.

More than 1,600 employees work at JAXA, and as of 2021, Japan's space budget was 449.6 billion yen (approximately 3.9424 trillion KRW), about half of which?212.4 billion yen (approximately 1.8624 trillion KRW)?was allocated to JAXA.

In September 2007, JAXA launched Japan's first lunar probe, 'Kaguya,' achieving the first confirmation of uranium's presence on the moon through photos and videos. In 2010, the asteroid explorer 'Hayabusa' successfully collected samples from the asteroid 'Itokawa' and returned them to Earth, marking a world first.

On September 7th this year, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched an H2A rocket carrying a small lunar surface explorer and other payloads from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture.
[Photo by AFP/ Yonhap News]

On September 7 this year, at the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, the H2A rocket No. 47 carrying Japan's first unmanned lunar probe 'SLIM' and the astronomical observation satellite 'CRiSM' was successfully launched. SLIM, a 200 kg ultra-small probe aiming to demonstrate precise landing technology, is scheduled to attempt a lunar landing around January next year.

While domestic political circles have been embroiled in disputes over the enactment of a special law to establish a 'Space Agency,' the Japanese government is preparing a 'Space Strategy Fund' worth 1 trillion yen (approximately 8.7653 trillion KRW) for JAXA to support space-related technology development and private companies.

On the 29th, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun reported that JAXA was subjected to a cyberattack this summer. According to the report, the target was the 'Active Directory (AD)' server, which manages and unifies the organization's internal network. This server is connected to the organization's main network and manages information such as employee IDs, passwords, and access rights.

The perpetrator of the cyberattack has not yet been identified, and no large-scale information leakage has been confirmed, the newspaper reported. The police discovered the cyberattack on JAXA this summer in the fall and notified JAXA. It is known that JAXA was unaware of the illegal access until contacted by the police.