Sony’s So-net Breach Spills 2.6 Million ISP Customer Records
Sony Network Communications says an Oct. 19 intrusion exposed 2.59 million So-net and Docomo Hikari customer records, plus 54,401 email addresses with passwords. No card data was taken.
Hackers got into the member database of So-net, the internet service run by Sony Group subsidiary Sony Network Communications, and exposed about 2.59 million customer records, BleepingComputer reports. Sony says the intrusion happened on Oct. 19 and was spotted four days later, when it shut down the affected servers. The haul includes records of NTT Docomo customers, because Sony runs Docomo’s Hikari home broadband service.
For defenders
What’s confirmed: According to Sony’s Oct. 27 notice, 2,585,481 records were exposed: 2,141,986 So-net entries and 443,495 plala (S Course) records tied to Docomo Hikari. The data covers names, phone numbers, email addresses, user IDs, dates of birth, gender and internet connection IDs. Separately, 54,401 email addresses from several email services were exposed together with their passwords. Sony says no bank, payment card or other account details were taken.
Not disclosed: How the attackers got in and who they are. No group has claimed it in the reporting, and as of Oct. 27 neither Sony nor Docomo had confirmed misuse. Sony has reported the incident to Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission. It follows a run of attacks on Japanese firms, including GMO’s Onamae Desktop Cloud.
Follow-on risk: Docomo is warning about phishing emails and fake sites impersonating its d POINT Club and a Universal Studios Japan ticket giveaway. Expect lures built on the leaked names, birth dates and connection IDs, and password-reuse attempts against the 54,401 exposed mailboxes.
What it means for you
If you use So-net or Docomo Hikari, or cancelled Hikari in the last six months, assume your name, phone number, email and birth date are now in criminals’ hands. That’s enough to make a scam email or call sound convincingly official. Your card details weren’t taken, but a message saying you’ve “won” something or need to “confirm” your account is the likely next step.
Do this now
- Change your So-net or plala password, and any other account where you used the same one.
- Ignore emails and texts about d POINT prizes or Universal Studios Japan tickets that ask for personal details.
- Reach your provider only through its official site or app, never through links in a message.
- Turn on two-step sign-in for your email account.