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Japan has experienced a surge of cyberattacks since July, exposing millions of personal data records and affecting businesses and public entities. Experts suspect these attacks were facilitated by AI, raising concerns about privacy violations and the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. The Japanese government is on high alert due to the potential AI involvement.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The event involves an AI system or AI-enabled tools used in cyberattacks that have directly led to significant harm: massive data breaches affecting millions of people and disruption of emergency alert systems, which are critical infrastructure. Although AI use is not definitively confirmed, the article states that AI is integral to offensive cyber operations and that similar attacks in neighboring countries involved AI agents. The harms include violations of privacy rights and potential disruption of critical infrastructure, both recognized categories of AI Incident harm. Hence, the event meets the criteria for an AI Incident due to the realized harms and the AI system's plausible involvement in causing them.[AI generated]