The Washington Hotel brand in Japan recently suffered a ransomware attack that compromised business data stored on its internal servers. In response, the company has launched an investigation with cybersecurity experts to evaluate the extent of the breach and restore affected systems.
Washington Hotel, a prominent business-focused hospitality chain managed by Fujita Kanko Inc., operates 30 locations and serves millions of guests annually throughout Japan. The cybersecurity breach occurred late in the evening on February 13, 2026, prompting immediate action from IT staff who disconnected servers to isolate the threat. While the investigation into the intrusion is still in its early stages, the company has confirmed that attackers successfully accessed various files containing internal business information.
The hotel group has clarified that sensitive guest information is likely secure because it is hosted on a separate infrastructure managed by an external provider. There is currently no evidence that these specific third-party servers were impacted by the unauthorized access. Despite this safeguard, the attack has caused minor logistical hurdles at some properties, specifically resulting in the temporary failure of credit card processing terminals while other operations remain largely intact.
To manage the crisis, the organization has formed a specialized task force and is working closely with law enforcement and digital forensics professionals. The total financial damage resulting from the downtime and data exposure is still being calculated, and the company has pledged to maintain transparency as more facts are uncovered. At this time, no specific cybercriminal organization has publicly taken credit for the encryption of the hotel's files on known extortion websites.
This incident follows a series of high-profile cyberattacks targeting major Japanese corporations across the automotive, retail, and telecommunications sectors. Experts note that these frequent breaches highlight a persistent threat environment for large-scale domestic businesses. While the exact entry point for this specific attack has not been disclosed, Japanese security agencies recently issued warnings regarding vulnerabilities in widely used file-sharing hardware.
The hospitality group continues to prioritize the restoration of its technical services to minimize guest inconvenience. Updates regarding the investigation are expected as the task force determines the full scope of the business data that was accessed. For now, the hotel remains operational, though it continues to monitor its network for any signs of residual malicious activity or further exploitation.
Source: Washington Hotel In Japan Discloses Ransomware Infection Incident