NTT Docomo, one of Japan’s leading telecommunications and IT service providers, experienced a massive disruption on January 2, 2025, after a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack targeted its network infrastructure.
The attack resulted in widespread service irregularities affecting customers for nearly 11 hours, from 5:27 a.m. until 4:10 p.m.
Services Impacted
The cyberattack caused significant delays and difficulties with several key services, including:
- Goo services, Docomo’s popular portal for internet searches and content.
- The OCN top page, a key interface for internet connections.
- d Menu News, a news aggregation service.
- Lemino’s search function.
- d Pay’s shopping search function.
- GOLF me, a golfing-related app.
Though the services were largely restored by the afternoon, recovery measures have prompted delays in updating content, leaving some systems with limited functionality.
Customers have been advised to check each service’s respective website for the most recent updates.
Cause of the Attack
According to an official statement from NTT Docomo, the disruption was attributed to a DDoS attack, which flooded the company’s servers with an overwhelming volume of automated traffic, leading to network congestion.
These types of cyberattacks are designed to exhaust server resources and render services inaccessible to users.
Separately, Docomo’s dPayment system faced intermittent disruptions between 10:50 a.m. and 11:08 a.m. on the same day.
However, the company clarified that this was unrelated to the DDoS attack and has since been resolved.
In a public apology, NTT Docomo acknowledged the frustration caused by the prolonged service outage.
The company emphasized that ensuring service stability remains a top priority. “We deeply apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused,” the company said in its statement.
While Docomo has effectively mitigated the immediate impact of the DDoS attack, the company has not disclosed details on the perpetrators or the scale of the attack.
As recovery measures continue, Docomo assured customers that it is working to strengthen its cybersecurity defenses to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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