サイバー犯罪、最多９８００件　金銭要求ウイルス確認―警察庁

　昨年１年間に警察が検挙したサイバー犯罪は前年比３５６件増の９８７５件で、過去最多を更新したことが４日、警察庁のまとめで分かった。企業などのパソコンをウイルスに感染させて金銭を要求する事例も多数確認されており、同庁は「サイバー空間上の脅威は極めて深刻な情勢にある」としている。
　企業を狙ってウイルスが添付されたメールを送るなどし、パソコンを感染させてデータを暗号化した上で解除のための身代金を要求する手口は「ランサムウエア」と呼ばれる。近年は盗んだデータの公開中止との引き換えでも金銭を要求する「二重恐喝」も現れた。（2021/03/04-10:10）

The number of cybercrime cases in Japan on which police took action grew by 356 from the previous year to a record 9,875 in 2020, a National Police Agency survey showed Thursday.
   They included ransomware cases, in which hackers sent virus-containing emails to companies, infected their computers with the viruses and encrypted data in the computers, and then demanded ransom for restoring the data. Some hackers also demanded money by threatening to put up stolen data on the internet in the so-called double extortion scheme.
   "The situation over threats in cyberspace is very serious," an NPA official said.
   The number of ransomware-related consultations received by police between April and September stood at 23 in 10 prefectures, including on a cyberattack that hit gaming company Capcom Co. . Nine of them were on double extortion cases.
   The actual situation may be worse than what the figures suggest because many companies are believed to have opted not to make an announcement although they fell prey to cyberattacks.