Security

Tech giant Fujitsu says it was hacked, warns of data breach

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A customer looks at Japanese Fujitsu computers in a store in Beijing
Image Credits: Peter Parks / AFP / Getty Images

Multinational technology giant Fujitsu confirmed a cyberattack in a statement Friday, and warned that hackers may have stolen personal data and customer information.

“We confirmed the presence of malware on multiple work computers at our company, and as a result of an internal investigation, we discovered that files containing personal information and customer information could be illegally taken out,” said Fujitsu in its statement on its website, translated from Japanese.

Fujitsu said it disconnected the affected systems from its network, and is investigating how its network was compromised by malware and “whether information has been leaked.”

The tech conglomerate did not specify what kind of malware was used, or the nature of the cyberattack.

Fujitsu also did not say what kind of personal information may have been stolen, or who the personal information pertains to — such as its employees, corporate customers, or citizens whose governments use the company’s technologies.

Headquartered in Japan, Fujitsu has about 124,000 employees and serves government and private sector customers globally. The tech company recently faced renewed furore over its role in the wrongful convictions of hundreds of U.K. Post Office workers, who were accused of false accounting and thefts that were later attributed to bugs in the Horizon computer software that Fujitsu developed.

Fujitsu representatives did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s requests for comment about the cyberattack.

Fujitsu said it reported the incident to Japan’s data protection authority, Personal Information Protection Commission, “in anticipation” that personal information may have been stolen.

The company has not said whether it has filed required data breach notices with any other government or authority, including in the United States.


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Fujitsu, facing heat over UK Post Office scandal, continues to rake in billions from government deals

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