August 20, 2024 Toyota recently confirmed a significant data breach after 240GB of sensitive information, including employee and customer data, was leaked on a cybercrime forum by the hacking group ZeroSevenGroup. The stolen data, which also includes financial details and network information, was reportedly taken from a U.S. branch of Toyota. Despite the company’s attempts to downplay the incident, the breach is notable for its scale and the sensitive nature of the data involved.
This breach follows a December 2023 incident where Toyota Financial Services also suffered a data breach that exposed personal and financial information of customers. The company has faced repeated cybersecurity challenges, raising concerns about the effectiveness of its data protection measures. In the latest incident, the leaked archive was reportedly created in December 2022, suggesting that attackers may have compromised a backup server where the data was stored.
The Medusa ransomware gang had previously targeted Toyota, demanding a ransom of $8 million in exchange for not leaking stolen data. After the deadline passed, the group published the data on its Tor leak site, further highlighting the persistent cybersecurity threats facing Toyota. This series of breaches underscores the need for Toyota to enhance its security infrastructure to protect against future attacks.
