Japanese media giant Nikkei has revealed that its Slack messaging platform was hacked, exposing personal information belonging to more than 17,000 employees and business partners.
The company confirmed that attackers gained access to employee accounts after stealing authentication details from a computer infected with malware.
Nikkei, one of the world’s largest publishing companies and the owner of the Financial Times, said it discovered the breach in September. Once the issue was detected, the company took immediate action, including resetting passwords and enhancing its security systems to prevent further damage.
According to Nikkei, the compromised data includes names, email addresses, and chat histories of 17,368 individuals registered on Slack. However, the company clarified that none of the stolen data falls under Japan’s Personal Information Protection Law, which requires mandatory reporting for certain breaches. Still, Nikkei voluntarily reported the incident to Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission, citing the importance of transparency.
The company also assured that no sensitive information related to confidential sources or reporting activities was affected. It emphasized that all data collected for journalistic purposes remains safe. “We take this incident seriously and will further strengthen personal information management to prevent any recurrence,” Nikkei said in a statement.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
