The Latest in IT Security

By Taiga Uranaka and Taro Fuse TOKYO (Reuters) – Hackers stole nearly $2 million from the online bank accounts of Japanese businesses in April, a surge in theft that has prompted some banks to curtail online services and rethink compensation policies, executives and regulators say. In April there were 50 cases of theft from online accounts held by Japanese businesses with nearly 200 million yen stolen, according to a person with knowledge of the industry-wide tally, which has not been made public. Japanese businesses reported 34 cases of online banking theft for the year ended March with a total of 182 million yen ($1.8 million) stolen, according to data released by the Japanese Bankers Association. Earlier this month, a senior official with Japan’s Financial Services Agency told regional bank executives that regulators were concerned that online theft could cause a chain of small business failures and bankruptcies, according to participants who attended the closed-door meeting.