Over 460,000 accounts compromised in Uniqlo Japan hack

Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, GU, Theory and J Brand, announced that the accounts of customers on their Uniqlo Japan and GU Japan online were accessed by hackers. The company broke the news on their website via a press release.

At present, Fast Retailing has determined that a total of 461,091 unauthorized logins occurred between April 23 and May 10, by means of list type account hacking. A police report has been filed with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. A total of 461,091 unauthorized logins to registered accounts on the Uniqlo Japan and GU Japan online stores were reported, with Fast Retailing not ruling out the possibility of there being more as the investigation continues.

Potentially accessed customer information includes customer names, customer addresses, customer phone numbers, email addresses, gender, date of birth, purchase history, clothing measurements, and customer partial credit card information. The company investigated, and confirmed that unauthorized logins had been attempted by external parties between April 23 and May 10.

Currently, Fast Retailing has identified the origin of the communication from which the unauthorized logins were attempted and has blocked access, and is strengthening monitoring of other access points. On May 13, the company disabled the passwords for the 461,091 user IDs that had been potentially accessed, and is sending individual emails to each person affected, requesting that they reset their password.

Hacking has become a concern for retailers as reports of data breaches are becoming a more than occasional occurrence. Consumers are urged to use different passwords per website to make it more difficult for hackers to compromise their information. Retailers are also taking added cyber security to make date breaches more difficult, such as blocking bot traffic.