Tokyo, Oct. 30 (Jiji Press)–About 3,600 sets of personal information may have been compromised following unauthorized access to a network at Japan’s Foreign Ministry, the ministry said Friday. The records contained names and email addresses, including those of some 900 individuals not employed by the ministry. They did not contain confidential information, the ministry said. The unauthorized access to the ministry network was detected on July 27. The access was immediately blocked and measures were taken to invalidate credentials. Following an investigation by outside experts, the ministry concluded that personal information may have been compromised. There have been no reports of leaked personal information being used. The network targeted in the unauthorized access was connected to external networks. However, confidential information is handled on a separate network that is closed. The consular system related to passports and the Tabi-Regi overseas travel safety information service was also not affected by the unauthorized access, the ministry said. “A third party stole login credentials for an email service,” a senior ministry official said. The ministry will contact individuals who are not ministry employees and whose personal information may have been compromised to explain the incident. “We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and concern this incident caused,” the ministry stated. It said that it will revise its access controls and authentication methods, strengthen monitoring and ensure thorough information-security training to prevent a recurrence. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
