On October 11, 2022, Toyota Motor Corporation announced that it had suffered a data breach that exposed the email addresses and customer control numbers of 296,019 customers. The breach was caused by a subcontractor who mistakenly uploaded part of the source code for the Toyota T-Connect website to GitHub, a public code repository. The source code contained the access key to the T-Connect data server, which allowed the hacker to access the customer data.
Toyota said that it is not aware of any evidence that the data has been used for malicious purposes, but it is offering free credit monitoring to affected customers. The company is also working with law enforcement to investigate the breach.
This is the third data breach that Toyota has suffered in the past year. In July 2022, a hacker stole data from Toyota's supplier, Denso, which included the personal information of 1.4 million Toyota employees. In September 2022, a hacker stole data from Toyota's website, which included the personal information of 100,000 Toyota customers.
These data breaches highlight the need for Toyota to improve its security practices. The company needs to implement stronger security measures to protect its data from hackers. Toyota also needs to be more transparent with its customers about data breaches. The company should notify customers as soon as possible if their data has been compromised.
Additional Information:
Toyota T-Connect is a telematics service that connects vehicles via a network. The service offers a variety of features, including:
Vehicle location tracking
Maintenance reminders
Concierge services
Vehicle information
A mobile application
GitHub is a popular code repository where developers can share their code with others. The site is open to the public, which means that anyone can view and download code that has been uploaded.
A customer control number is a unique identifier that is assigned to each Toyota customer. The number is used to identify the customer in Toyota's systems.
Credit monitoring is a service that provides consumers with access to their credit report and credit score on a regular basis. This allows consumers to identify any potential problems with their credit, such as unauthorized accounts or fraudulent activity.
Law enforcement is the branch of government that is responsible for enforcing the law. In the case of a data breach, law enforcement can investigate the breach and help to identify the perpetrators.
