Unauthorized Computer Access at Mie Support Center for the Hearing Impaired, Personal Information May Have Leaked

From NHK

October 1 2023

Tsu City, Mie Pref – The Mie Prefectural Support Center for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, which provides support for the hearing impaired and trains sign language interpreters, announced that someone had gained unauthorized access to a staff member’s computer, possibly leaking the names, addresses, and other personal information of about 1,200 people, including the hearing impaired and sign language interpreters, to outside parties.

According to the Prefectural Support Center for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, on September 12, a female employee in her 40s called the contact number displayed on her work computer after a warning screen appeared indicating that it had been infected by a virus.

The employee followed the instructions of a man claiming to be an operator and operated the computer. As a result, remote control software was installed on her computer and she was asked to pay for repairs.

However, 10 days later, the computer was found to be infected with a virus.

The computer had an external hard disk containing the names, addresses, and other personal information of 1,212 people, including hearing-impaired persons and sign language interpreters, and in the worst case scenario, the information could have been leaked to outside parties.

At this point, it is not known whether or not the information was actually leaked, but the center has contacted the person in question and apologized.

At the press conference, Yoshihide Yamamoto, director of the Prefectural Support Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, said, “We deeply apologize for any inconvenience and concern this may have caused to those concerned.