Unauthorized access halts Japanese second

Unauthorized access halts Japanese second-hand websites

A Japanese used car website has been suspended due to unauthorized access. The incident follows a series of data leaks and service disruptions affecting businesses and public offices in Japan.

Carsensor's operator, Recruit, says it halted the online service from around 5 p.m. on Saturday.

Recruit says it is trying to confirm whether users' personal data has been leaked. The company says it remains unclear when the website will become available again.

Two other firms also announced on Saturday that their systems had been hit by unauthorized access: 2nd Street, which buys and sells used clothing and furniture, and Geo, a retailer of games and smartphones.

They have suspended their website and app services to prevent any further damage.

Last week, a Japanese restaurant chain and a software production firm reported leaks of large amounts of personal data. Unauthorized access also forced the suspension of administrative services, such as email alerts for sending disaster information.

IDC Frontier, a subsidiary of Japanese telecom giant SoftBank, reported a cyberattack to its cloud service earlier this month. Even unaffected clients became unable to back up their data.

But IDC Frontier announced on Sunday that those clients can now resume backups as the company has confirmed the system's safety.