A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Japan for exploiting a flaw in Bandai Channel's servers to fraudulently cancel over 46,000 subscriptions. The incident led to a temporary suspension of the service and underscores vulnerabilities in streaming platforms.
Tokyo police have arrested a 15-year-old high school student for cyberattacks on Bandai Channel, a significant anime streaming service. The boy, who lives near Tokyo, allegedly exploited server vulnerabilities to cancel more than 46,000 user subscriptions.
According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the student analyzed the service's network traffic to identify a flaw. He then created a malicious program with assistance from ChatGPT to automate the unauthorized cancellations. The incidents reportedly occurred in November 2025.
The attack prompted a temporary suspension of Bandai Channel, disrupting services for over a month. The streaming service's operator, part of a major Japanese entertainment company, had previously disclosed another cyberattack in 2022 that may have compromised customer data.
The teenager was initially arrested in June for unauthorized access to user accounts. Following further investigation, authorities linked him to more severe impacts on the service. Despite being blocked, he continued his activities by changing his IP address.
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A 15-year-old boy was arrested in Japan for exploiting a flaw in Bandai Channel's servers to fraudulently cancel over 46,000 subscriptions. The incident led to a temporary suspension of the service and underscores vulnerabilities in streaming platforms.