Times Car reporting ¥5.5 billion loss has firms bracing for data breach fallout

The Japan Times reports that Park24, the parent of Times Car operator Times Mobility, announced that it plans to report a one-time special loss of ¥5.5 billion (about $35 million) for the business year through October over the incident.[1]The Japan Times says that Times Car saw personal data that included the driver's licenses of 1.46 million people leaked in September[1].The Safeguard security blog reports that Park24's final figures were "6,628,007 accounts with traces of access and outbound transfer, plus 1,464,800 encrypted identity document images sent out."[2] Safeguard says Park24 described the cause as "an exploited web system vulnerability"[2].DataBreaches.net, citing The Japan Times, reports that the loss covers a blanket ¥3,000 payout the company is planning to give to each customer whose driver's license data and other critical information have been breached, along with the costs to deal with the incident.[3] According to Nippon.com, the total cost of the consolation payment is expected to be some 4.4 billion yen.[4]Lawyer Junko Kawai of Umegae Chuo Legal Profession said that "This case shows how much financial damage smaller companies could face as a result of personal data leaks"[3], according to DataBreaches.net.Safeguard says Park24 also announced a 12.5% cut to the full year net profit forecast[2]. It also says a committee led by outside directors, with outside experts, will review internal control and governance.[2]Safeguard adds that MLex reported on 21 October that a Japanese lawyer is preparing a joint damages suit against Park24[2].