Authorities in Japan have apprehended a 15-year-old high school pupil accused of disrupting business operations after allegedly launching cyberattacks on Bandai Channel, a premium anime and tokusatsu streaming platform managed by Bandai Namco (source: TBS News Dig).ย
The teenager is suspected of illicitly breaching Bandai Channelโs servers on multiple occasions starting in November 2025. Through these digital assaults, he purportedly terminated subscriptions for over 46 thousand users, prompting Bandai Namco to briefly halt the service.ย
According to official statements, the student began self-teaching programming skills around his fourth year of elementary school. By the time of the incident, while in his final year of junior high, he uncovered a security flaw in Bandai Namcoโs infrastructure by scrutinizing its communication logs. He subsequently leveraged ChatGPT to craft custom malware and execute the cyberattacks.ย
Upon detecting the damage, Bandai Namco swiftly implemented countermeasures like restricting his access, but he reportedly persisted in canceling memberships by altering his IP address approximately 30 times.ย
Bandai Namco then liaised with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which identified the student as a suspect through an examination of communication records and other ัะปะธะบะธ. The arrest took place in June of this year, with the boy admitting to the accusations. He reportedly claimed he was not driven by animosity toward the company, and merely acted because he could infiltrate a vast number of accounts.ย
Although the boy acquired membersโ email addresses and usernames during the breach, law enforcement confirms no evidence of misuse of this information has been uncovered.ย