According to a recent report by a government panel, the number of personal data breaches in Japan has sharply increased, reaching a staggering 21,000 cases during fiscal 2024. This represents a 58 percent rise compared to the previous year and underscores the insufficient security measures in both public and private sectors. Many of these cases stemmed from breaches in labor and social security attorney offices that operate on similar software, demonstrating a notable vulnerability within the systems used for handling sensitive information.
Among the reported breaches, the vast majority, approximately 19,056 cases, were associated with the private sector, marking a 57 percent increase from fiscal 2023. A significant number—2,745—were linked to unauthorized access issues related to MKSystem Corp., a provider of software for businesses in the labor and social security field. Although the Personal Information Protection Commission recommended corrective actions for one business due to a serious information protection violation, this is a decrease from three recommendations in the prior fiscal year. In contrast, the Commission stepped up its advisory role, offering guidance in 395 instances, which reflects a 19 percent increase.
On the other hand, public sector leaks also saw a significant rise, climbing 68 percent to reach 1,951 cases. Many of these incidents were attributed to human errors, such as issuing or delivering documents incorrectly. Additionally, breaches related to the "My Number" national identification system spiked dramatically, increasing by approximately 6.1 times to 2,052 cases, with improper access to MKSystem software accounting for a substantial 1,726 of these incidents.
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