Massive Data Breach at Sony Network Communications Exposes 2.58 Million Records

According to CyberInsider, the intrusion occurred on October 19 but was discovered on October 23[2]. The company said in its notice that "we promptly stopped the affected server and cut off communications from the source of the unauthorized access"[1], Help Net Security reports.Tech Times reports that 2,141,986 So-net membership records and 443,495 plala (S Course) records were exposed.[3] Cybersecurity News says the leaked member information includes names, telephone numbers, email addresses, user IDs, dates of birth, gender, and internet connection IDs.[4]GBHackers reports that these email service passwords are separate from the primary So-net and Plala membership passwords, which Sony stated were not leaked.[5] According to CyberInsider, the breach also exposed 16 bank account records[2], and no credit card information was included in any of the disclosed data categories.[2]Cyber Kendra reports that Docomo said it was told about the breach on 26 October, the day before the public announcement.[6]Help Net Security quotes the company as saying "no secondary damage caused by this incident has been confirmed"[1]. Help Net Security adds that Sony also warned "suspicious communications exploiting the leaked information may arrive in the future."[1]According to Tech Times, the cause of the breach remains under investigation, and Sony has not identified a specific vulnerability or attacker.[3]