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Askul Corporation, a popular Japanese retailer, has confirmed that a cyberattack exposed its customer data, which includes names, email addresses, etc.
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A cybercriminal organization from Russia known as RansomHouse is claiming responsibility for the incident, stating that they stole a total of 1.1 terabytes of Askul data.
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This incident comes as part of a worrying emergence of cyber attacks against large Japanese organizations, with the Asahi Group being one of the recently attacked companies.
A big office supply company in Japan just got hacked by a Russian group, and the hackers stole a huge chunk of customer info.
This is the second big cyberattack on a Japanese giant in weeks. It shows no company is truly safe anymore. These digital break-ins are causing real-world chaos.
The Askul Data Breach
Askul Corp., a popular seller of office and household goods, dropped some bad news recently. They confirmed a leak of customer personal information. This all went down because of a smart cyberattack that messed up their system.
What was stolen? Customer names, email addresses, and other information. So far, Askul says nobody’s reported any problems or misuse of the data yet. But they are seriously worried about fraudulent emails being sent to affected customers.
Askul is now personally contacting those impacted. They are apologizing and telling everyone to watch out for strange emails. It’s the usual move to try and fix things after a data breach.
Who’s Behind the Data Breach?
RansomHouse, a Russian hack group, was quick to take credit for the breach in a post on the dark web. Security experts from S&J Corp. found the group’s statement. RansomHouse claims it stole a massive 1.1 terabytes of data from Askul. They said this included customer information and purchase histories.
It seems the hackers really thought it out – they leaked just enough information to do real damage to Askul’s reputation. It looks like a well-planned and targeted attack.
A Troubling Pattern for Japanese Business
This attack echoes a similar crisis at Asahi Group just weeks before. A different Russian ransomware group, Qilin, claimed that the attack. It was so severe that Asahi had to pause production at most of its 30 factories in Japan.
The hack disrupted everything from beer shipments to the company’s accounting system. While facilities have partially reopened, computer systems remain down. This forced Asahi back to using pen, paper, and fax machines to process orders.
Meanwhile, Ashi has admitted that personal data was probably stolen, and their investigation is still ongoing to uncover what really happened. The attack hit the company so hard, they had to push back their third-quarter financial report. This shows that cyberattacks aren’t just an IT headache—they can stop a company in its tracks, both financially and publicly.
What This Means for Everyone
Back-to-back attacks on big companies aren’t just headlines — they’re a blaring alarm. If you’re a regular person, your private info’s always hanging by a thread. One breach can leave you scrambling to avoid scams and worrying about your privacy.
It’s an absolute nightmare for businesses. Everything grinds to a stop, it costs a fortune to recover, and customers will walk away even faster. These attacks make it clear: if you just trust digital systems without strong security, you’re playing with fire.
So, what now? Companies need to step up. Putting money into real cybersecurity isn’t just another line item—it’s survival. And don’t forget about backup plans that don’t depend on the internet. Good old-fashioned paper can save the day when hackers lock everything else down.
