NTT Communications says attackers were able to penetrate the company’s systems, stealing the data of about 18,000 companies.
NTT shares that unauthorized access was granted to the company’s internal systems on Feb. 5. The telecom market supplier shared the message in its native language: Japanese. “On Feb. 6, we confirmed that information may have been leaked to the outside world,” it further reads.
Hackers allegedly accessed the company’s Order Information Distribution System. This system contains data from 17,891 business customers. Contracts regarding business mobile services are not kept in this system and thus were not implicated in the hack. It is not yet clear exactly what data was stolen. There is speculation that it may include company names, contact names, contract numbers, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, physical addresses and service usage information.
Had access until Feb. 15
On Feb. 6, the hackers were also locked out of the systems they had forced themselves into. Later, on Feb. 15, an investigation showed that this intent had not succeeded. In fact, the hackers were still hiding in another device connected to the NTT network. This system was isolated, and, according to NTT, the hackers were unable to spread further.
Minimal communication
This incident is remarkable because of the limited communication from the company. NTT reported the leak only through the company website. In doing so, it indicates that affected customers will not receive a personal message.
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