Major Japanese firms fall victim to data leaks: survey

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/05/02/national/major-japanese-firms-fall-victim-to-data-leaks-survey/#.VUfKTflViko

Some of the nation’s major firms have reported being victims of data leaks
over the past five years either because of cyberattacks or as former
employees and others willfully took company data out with them, a Kyodo
News survey showed Saturday.

The survey, which followed the nation’s biggest-ever data theft at
educational service provider Benesse Holdings Inc., points to the risk of
data leaks major Japanese firms face today, with the potential for damage
to fair competition among companies and for putting the privacy of many
customers at risk.

A former chief of the Japan Patent Office said more companies could have
fallen victim to similar data leaks, calling for companies to look
thoroughly into the possibility that they too have had their data
compromised.

The survey was conducted in March on 100 companies with cutting-edge
technology or large customer data. Ten of the 62 companies that responded
to the survey reported having had their corporate data leaked over the past
five years.

The names of the 10 companies are being withheld because they requested
anonymity.

Of the 10 firms, five, including an infrastructure-related company and a
manufacturer, said their data were leaked because of cyberattacks. The
infrastructure company said it has yet to determine who perpetrated the
attack on it, while the manufacturer suspects the involvement of a public
entity abroad.

Of the same 10 companies, five blamed their data leaks solely on people
involved in their work, such as former employees and contractors.

One firm cited both a cyberattack and a person taking data with them as the
causes of its data leaks.

To prevent the kind of data leaks found in the survey, all the respondents
said they have limited access to certain information. Many of the firms
have put people in charge of security or banned employees and others from
leaving offices with their computers and notebooks.

Last year Benesse was found to have had the personal information of its
roughly 40 million customers leaked by a systems engineer, dealing a
serious blow to its reputation and earnings.

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