Karaoke giant's contractor hit by malware, exposing 8.6 million fan records

Daiichi Kosho, Japan's largest karaoke chain operator, has warned of a possible leak of personal data. The company runs 521 venues across the country, including Big Echo, one of the nation's most popular karaoke box chains.

Daiichi Kosho outsources the handling of its customers' personal information to Nippon Columbia Group (NCG), an entertainment holding whose businesses span music, video and game production as well as artist management. The incident occurred at this contractor rather than at Daiichi Kosho itself.

What happened

On October 5, NCG told its client that it had found malware on an employee's computer; the affected system was isolated the next day. No data theft or leak has been confirmed, but Daiichi Kosho is urging customers to stay cautious.

The exposed records cover 93,000 employees and 8,631,000 customers, and include full names, genders, dates of birth, email addresses and phone numbers. The breach may affect users of BIG ECHO, MEGA BIG, Karaoke CLUB DAM, Banana Club, B-GARAGE and DK Dining.

What it means

The company stresses that passwords were not part of the exposed data, and there is no evidence that loyalty points have been misused. Daiichi Kosho says its own systems were not breached. NCG has reset passwords and other credentials and is still investigating the cause and scope of the incident, as well as whether any data has surfaced online.

The standard advice applies: be wary of unsolicited emails, texts or calls demanding payments or asking for personal or financial details.

A Friday update added no new information about a potential leak. BleepingComputer could find no public statement from NCG itself and has asked the company for comment.

Source: Bleeping Computer