Toyota Data Breach Places Over 2 Million Vehicles in Japan at Risk

Toyota admitted that a decade-long data breach in its cloud-based Connected service put some information on more than 2 million vehicles in Japan at risk.

The breach spanned from January 2012 to April 2023.

The Connected service reminds owners to get maintenance checks, and links to streaming entertainment, and provides help during emergencies. It can call for help after a crash or locate a car that’s been stolen.

No issues arising from the breach have been reported so far.

There is yet no evidence that any information was leaked, copied, or misused due to the breach.

The data at risk includes the vehicle identification number, the location of the vehicle and at what time it was there; and video footage taken by the vehicle, known as the “drive recorder” in Japan.

Such information cannot be used to identify individual owners, according to Toyota Motor Corp.

Vehicles belonging to about 2.15 million people have been affected, including those who used net services called G-Link, G-Book, and Connected.

Toyota’s Connected service in Japan is operated by a subsidiary. The problem is a major embarrassment for Japan’s top automaker, which has built a reputation for quality and attention to detail.

According to Toyota spokesperson Hideaki Homma, the problem with the system has been fixed and there is no need to bring the vehicles in for repairs.