If you’re a big anime fan (and we hope you are if you’re reading this article…) then you know all about Toei Animation, they are behind some of the biggest anime franchises around. Including Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, and more. But, you’ll also know that name because of how they were forced to delay a LOT of their projects (including the upcoming Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero movie) due to a massive hack that infiltrated their systems.
This was something that took many people aback, because while hacks do happen all over the world, hearing it happen at an animation company? Not so much.
Naturally, Toei took point and launched an investigation into what happened, and it just so happened to reveal that the crime was one of timing and opportunity:
“A Company employee downloaded a software required for business from an external website, which had been tampered with so as to simultaneously download a software program that would serve as the entry point for ransomware infiltration,” Toei Animation shared. “Subsequently, on March 6, the Company confirmed the unauthorized access to its network by a third party.”
Now, as for how that hack led to the massive delays…
“Following the unauthorized access by a third party, portions of the data in the Company’s server and PCs were encrypted after being infected by the ransomware, which resulted in delays in parts of the regular operations and anime production for about a month,” it shared.
Thankfully for all anime fans, Toei says that they are back up and running and that they’ll be able to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again. Which is good, because fans don’t want their anime shows and movies to be delayed any more than they have to be!
And to the hackers…please don’t do this again, PLEASE!!!
Source: Toei Animation