A leading Japanese matchmaking app was hacked, likely exposing the personal information of more than 1.7 million account holders, in the latest high-profile online attack.
Net Marketing Co, which runs the Omiai dating app, said that it found evidence of unauthorized access to its servers last month. Among the data exposed were photographs of ID used to confirm the age of users, including drivers’ licenses, insurance cards and passports.
Credit card data were not leaked in the hack, the firm said on Friday, adding that it had yet to confirm misappropriation of the personal information.
The Omiai app, named after the Japanese word for matchmaking, had 6.8 million accounts as of last month, according to its monthly report. While free for women, Omiai generates revenue by charging men and offers plans starting at ￥3,980 (US$36.60) for a one-month subscription.
Shares in Net Marketing slumped by the 19 percent limit at market close yesterday, the most since their listing in 2017.
The firm, which has a market value of about US$70 million, trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s First Section.
While Omiai primarily targets users looking for serious relationships, the leak is reminiscent of the hack of adultery Web site AshleyMadison.com in 2015, which exposed the personal data of 37 million users of the site.
Ransomware attacks have also been making headlines this month after hackers who targeted Ireland’s health service threatened to publicly release patient data, as well as following the breach of Colonial Pipeline Co in the US.
Separately, Air India Ltd also said that personal data of an unspecified number of travelers had been compromised after a company that serves India’s national carrier was hacked.
The hackers were able to access 10 years’ worth of data, including names, passport and credit card details, from the Atlanta-based SITA Passenger Service System, Air India said in a statement on Friday.
It disclosed the scale of the breach nearly three months after it was first informed by the IT provider.
The breach that happened in late February had compromised the data of some major global airlines, too.
SITA at that time had said that Singapore Airlines Ltd, Air New Zealand Ltd and Lufthansa AG were among those affected.
Air India said almost 4.5 million passengers globally were affected in the “highly sophisticated” attack, but did not specify how many of them were its travelers.
It said no password data were breached during the attack and that the company was investigating.
The company said it recommended in an e-mail to its customers that they should change their account passwords as a precaution.
Additional reporting by AP
SEMICONDUCTORS: The firm has already completed one fab, which is to begin mass producing 2-nanomater chips next year, while two others are under construction Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to begin construction of its fourth and fifth wafer fabs in Kaohsiung next year, targeting the development of high-end processes. The two facilities — P4 and P5 — are part of TSMC’s production expansion program, which aims to build five fabs in Kaohsiung. TSMC facility division vice president Arthur Chuang (莊子壽) on Thursday said that the five facilities are expected to create 8,000 jobs. To respond to the fast-changing global semiconductor industry and escalating international competition, TSMC said it has to keep growing by expanding its production footprints. The P4 and P5
DOWNFALL: The Singapore-based oil magnate Lim Oon Kuin was accused of hiding US$800 million in losses and leaving 20 banks with substantial liabilities Former tycoon Lim Oon Kuin (林恩強) has been declared bankrupt in Singapore, following the collapse of his oil trading empire. The name of the founder of Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (興隆貿易) and his children Lim Huey Ching (林慧清) and Lim Chee Meng (林志朋) were listed as having been issued a bankruptcy order on Dec. 19, the government gazette showed. The younger Lims were directors at the company. Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Advisory Pte Ltd are the trustees, according to the gazette. At its peak, Hin Leong traded a range of oil products, made lubricants and operated loading
The growing popularity of Chinese sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks has shaken up Mexico’s luxury car market, hitting sales of traditionally dominant brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Mexicans are increasingly switching from traditionally dominant sedans to Chinese vehicles due to a combination of comfort, technology and price, industry experts say. It is no small feat in a country home to factories of foreign brands such as Audi and BMW, and where until a few years ago imported Chinese cars were stigmatized, as in other parts of the world. The high-end segment of the market registered a sales drop
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
RSS