Toyota’s Cloud Data Breach: How Safe Is Your Personal Information?

Toyota Announces Another Data Breach

Toyota Motor Corp. has recently announced that it has discovered another data breach, where two misconfigured cloud services were found leaking 260,000 car owners’ personal information over a seven-year period. This discovery comes after the car manufacturer conducted an investigation of its cloud features following the announcement earlier in the month that the data of 2.15 million customers was available for over 10 years to anyone on the internet due to a misconfigured cloud bucket. The cloud service, known as Toyota Connected, allows Toyota car owners to connect to internet services in their vehicles such as entertainment features, emergency assistance in an accident, and location services.

The Details of the Breach

The breach exposed customers’ information such as names, phone numbers, email addresses, and vehicle registration numbers, which may have been externally accessible from October 2016 up until this month. However, the car manufacturer has emphasized that no financial or vehicle location-related data was included in the breach. It is important to note that this breach also occurred due to insufficient dissemination and enforcement of data handling rules.

Expert Opinion on the Breach

Jason Kent, hacker in residence at Cequence Security, mentioned that, “Having this data exposed, and for so long, it should be assumed that all this data was compromised over and over … Since I haven’t been notified about my data being leaked, as a Toyota customer, I can assume it’s because they are taking a slow legal approach as well.”

The Company’s Response

In its apology and notice, Toyota has stated that it has implemented a system to monitor cloud configurations to prevent future breaches from happening. However, this response is not sufficient to protect the customers’ information that might be leaked in the future.

The Importance of Data Security

This latest breach once again highlights the importance of data security in this technological age, where everything we do is interconnected with the internet. Customers trust companies with their personal information, and it is the responsibility of companies to protect that information. It is unacceptable that a company as large as Toyota has experienced two data breaches within the span of one month.

Advice to Companies and Customers

Companies dealing with sensitive customer data should prioritize data security by properly disseminating and enforcing data handling rules, conducting regular security assessments, and closely monitoring cloud configurations. Customers should also be vigilant by practicing good data hygiene, such as using strong passwords, avoiding suspicious emails or links, and reporting any suspicious activity. It is only through collaboration and vigilance that we can put a stop to these data breaches.

Editorial

It is time for companies, both large and small, to take data security seriously and dedicate adequate resources and attention to it. Data breaches do not only cause financial losses, but they also erode customers’ trust and damage a company’s reputation. In today’s digital age, data security is no longer an afterthought but an essential aspect of doing business.