Daiichi Kosho, Japan’s largest karaoke maker and the operator of 521 venues including the Big Echo chain, says a malware infection at one of its contractors has exposed personal records for about 8.7 million people. The contractor, Nippon Columbia Group (NCG), handles customer data on Daiichi Kosho’s behalf. NCG told Daiichi Kosho on October 5 that it had found malware on an employee’s computer and isolated the affected system the following day.
The exposed data covers 8,631,000 customers and 93,000 employees: full names, genders, dates of birth, email addresses and telephone numbers. Daiichi Kosho says no passwords were included, it has seen no unauthorized use of loyalty points, and its own systems were not breached. It has not confirmed that any data was stolen or leaked, only that it was exposed, and NCG has reset passwords and other credentials while it investigates the cause and whether anything has been published online. BleepingComputer could not find a public announcement from NCG and has asked the company for comment.
How to check if you’re affected
Affected products are the Daiichi Kosho karaoke and dining brands named in the company’s notice: BIG ECHO, MEGA BIG, Karaoke CLUB DAM, Banana Club, B-GARAGE and DK Dining. If you have ever given one of them your name, birth date, email or phone number, assume you may be in the exposed records.
- Treat unexpected emails, texts or calls that mention karaoke visits, memberships or points, or that ask for payment or personal details, as suspicious. Daiichi Kosho’s own advice is to stay wary of this kind of unsolicited contact.
- Do not click links in such messages. Go to the brand’s official site or app directly instead.
- Daiichi Kosho has opened a toll-free inquiry line for the incident, announced in a second notice on its website.