Has your private information been exposed? Toyota Australia reveals shocking 6-year data breach
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Isn’t it just awful when something that’s supposed to benefit us ends up causing us more harm than good? Many of our members no doubt own vehicles and rely on the speed and ease of digital systems.
But sometimes, it appears that this modern world doesn't always provide the safety and protection that we need.
Recently, Toyota Australia announced a shocking discovery: the vehicle data and personal information of several of their Australian customers may have been publicly accessible for six years due to an unfortunate human error.
Upon further investigation, it turns out that a cloud storage system was set to ‘public’ instead of ‘private’.
Who would've thought that a tiny slip-up could cause such severe consequences? We certainly find it alarming, and we're sure many of our members will feel the same way.
Toyota Australia acknowledged the unfortunate situation, stating that the exposed data may have included customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, along with vehicle identification and registration numbers.
This privacy breach may have been accessible between October 2016 and May 2023, making it a dangerous six-year stretch of potential vulnerability.
It follows after it was announced that earlier this month, vehicle data of more than 2 million Toyota users in Japan had been available for nearly a decade because of human error as well.
It is Toyota Japan's second major data breach in six months; last year, the personal details of more than 300,000 customers were accessed.
The number of impacted Toyota Australia has not yet been confirmed.
What's even more distressing is that Toyota initially thought that customers in Australia were not affected.
However, they have since backtracked, admitting that a number of Australian customers have indeed been impacted.
Thankfully, they have clarified that no personal financial details were compromised.
‘At the time of that [May 12] notification, it was our understanding that no Australian data was included, but, upon continued investigation, we now know that a comparatively small number of Australian records have been impacted,’ a Toyota Australia spokesperson said.
‘Our investigations have found no evidence that the data has been accessed, and we have concluded that the probability is extremely low that any third party could have accessed it,’ they continued.
One can imagine how uneasy this revelation must feel, especially to loyal Toyota customers. The company has expressed their understanding of the situation and is working to directly contact those affected to inform them of the breach and offer any assistance they can.
Although Toyota has not elaborated on which countries in the Asia and Oceania regions are affected or the exact number of impacted customers, they reassured customers that they are investigating the issue based on the laws and regulations of each country.
In the interest of keeping our members informed, we strongly encourage you to be mindful of your online information and accounts and to always be on high alert for potential data breaches or scams.
Stay safe out there!
But sometimes, it appears that this modern world doesn't always provide the safety and protection that we need.
Recently, Toyota Australia announced a shocking discovery: the vehicle data and personal information of several of their Australian customers may have been publicly accessible for six years due to an unfortunate human error.
Upon further investigation, it turns out that a cloud storage system was set to ‘public’ instead of ‘private’.
Who would've thought that a tiny slip-up could cause such severe consequences? We certainly find it alarming, and we're sure many of our members will feel the same way.
Toyota Australia confirmed that human error saw their data storage system set to public instead of private. Credit: Pixabay/Pexels
Toyota Australia acknowledged the unfortunate situation, stating that the exposed data may have included customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, along with vehicle identification and registration numbers.
This privacy breach may have been accessible between October 2016 and May 2023, making it a dangerous six-year stretch of potential vulnerability.
It follows after it was announced that earlier this month, vehicle data of more than 2 million Toyota users in Japan had been available for nearly a decade because of human error as well.
It is Toyota Japan's second major data breach in six months; last year, the personal details of more than 300,000 customers were accessed.
The number of impacted Toyota Australia has not yet been confirmed.
Information including names, addresses, vehicle identification and rego numbers could have been accessible. Credit: Yiğit Melih Berber/Pexels
What's even more distressing is that Toyota initially thought that customers in Australia were not affected.
However, they have since backtracked, admitting that a number of Australian customers have indeed been impacted.
Thankfully, they have clarified that no personal financial details were compromised.
‘At the time of that [May 12] notification, it was our understanding that no Australian data was included, but, upon continued investigation, we now know that a comparatively small number of Australian records have been impacted,’ a Toyota Australia spokesperson said.
‘Our investigations have found no evidence that the data has been accessed, and we have concluded that the probability is extremely low that any third party could have accessed it,’ they continued.
One can imagine how uneasy this revelation must feel, especially to loyal Toyota customers. The company has expressed their understanding of the situation and is working to directly contact those affected to inform them of the breach and offer any assistance they can.
Although Toyota has not elaborated on which countries in the Asia and Oceania regions are affected or the exact number of impacted customers, they reassured customers that they are investigating the issue based on the laws and regulations of each country.
Stay safe out there!
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