Tokio Marine Hit by Ransomware Attack in Singapore

Japanese-headquartered insurer Tokio Marine Group was the latest ransomware victim with an attack launched on its Singapore unit.

Some of Tokio Marine Insurance Singapore’s (TMiS) internal servers were targeted on July 31, according to a statement, which was isolated detection to prevent further damage. The Japanese insurer also filed reports to local governmental agencies.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern caused to our customers or related parties, the group said.

The group is still identifying the extent of the damage but thus far, there has been no indication of loss of any customer or confidential information and none of TMiS’ core insurance operating systems were affected.

The life insurance unit Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore (TMLS) was also unaffected as it maintains different servers but TMLS still took immediate action to screen its own servers and adopt additional safeguards.

Tokio Marine has also appointed an external specialist to perform a third-party analysis of its systems to determine the scope of the attack’s impact.

A growing number of companies have been victims of attacks via ransomware – typically malware that threatens to publish data or block access unless a ransom is paid.

In May, French insurer AXA also announced that it was also a ransomware victim in Asia with affected operations in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the Philippines.