According to TechCrunch, Japanese tech giant Panasonic confirmed that hackers obtained personal information belonging to job seekers and interns during a cyberattack in November. The company first confirmed the data breach on Nov. 26, when it couldn't say if the hackers had obtained any sensitive information.
However, in an update released on January 7, Panasonic said that some personal information related to candidates who applied for employment or participated in internships in certain departments of the company was obtained during the incident. Panasonic said it was notifying those affected.
When TechCrunch contacted Panasonic spokeswoman Dannea DeLisser, she declined to say how many people were affected and the nature of the information being accessed.
Panasonic's latest news also confirms that the data breach — which began on June 22, ended on November 3 and was discovered on November 11 — saw hackers obtain documents provided by business partners containing unspecified "business-related information," as well as information about business partner personnel.
The company's findings with the help of external security consultants confirmed that a third party illegally accessed a file server in Japan through the server of an overseas subsidiary. Panasonic said it "immediately implemented additional security countermeasures" after discovering illegal access, including strengthening access controls from overseas, resetting relevant passwords and enhancing server access monitoring.
Panasonic said it is strengthening security measures to prevent a recurrence of attacks.
The Data Breach that occurred in November at Panasonic came months after the company's Indian subsidiary became the victim of a ransomware attack in which hackers leaked 4GB of data, including financial information and email addresses.