Personal data of Nikkei subscribers leaked

Nikkei news agency has revealed that some of its subscribers’ personal information might have been leaked on 1,644 occasions, saying the incidents have been reported to the Privacy Commissioner in Hong Kong.

The news agency said there had been unauthorised access to some email accounts used by Nikkei China (Hong Kong), an overseas group company, and Nikkei’s Hong Kong bureau since October 2020.

It said personal information belonging to its overseas subscribers, including names, email addresses, company names and phone numbers, was exposed to the risk of leakage.

In 24 instances, credit card information belonging to its corporate customers might have been leaked, it said, but no information belonging to its customers located in Japan was leaked.

“We apologise for the trouble and worry we have caused for many people,” a Nikkei spokesperson said.

“We will tighten our control of personal information and work to prevent similar occurrences.”