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Sony ISP unit says 2.5 million customer records exposed in Japan breach
BleepingComputer reports Sony Network Communications confirmed unauthorized access to its So-net member database, exposing about 2.5 million current and former customer records, with no payment data included.
Sony Network Communications, a Sony Group subsidiary that operates internet access in Japan, confirmed a data breach that exposed about 2.5 million records of current and former customers, BleepingComputer reported Wednesday, citing a company announcement1.
The company said the intrusion occurred Oct. 19 and was detected four days later, when it shut down compromised servers and blocked external communication1. Investigators found unauthorized access to the So-net member database that supports its internet access service1.
Sony Network Communications said 2,585,481 customer records were exposed, including full names, phone numbers, email addresses, user IDs, dates of birth, gender and internet connection IDs1. It said no banking, payment-card or other account details were included1. An additional 54,401 email addresses from several email services were exposed along with account passwords, and the company advised users to change passwords1.
Of the exposed customer records, 2,141,986 were So-net entries and 443,495 were plala (S Course) records that affect NTT Docomo, which contracts Sony Network Communications for Docomo Hikari services, according to the report1. Docomo notified customers and warned of phishing emails and fake sites impersonating its d POINT Club and a Universal Studios Japan campaign1. Docomo said the incident affects all current Hikari clients and those who canceled within the preceding six months1.
Sony reported the incident to Japan's Personal Information Protection Commission and said it is investigating the cause and scope1. As of Oct. 27, neither company had confirmed misuse of the exposed data, BleepingComputer said1.
