Toyota Customer Data Leak: 240GB Of Sensitive Information Exposed By Hacker Group ZeroSevenGroup
A recent data breach involving the Japanese automaker Toyota has exposed 240GB of sensitive customer and employee information on a dark web forum. The breach, claimed by the hacker group ZeroSevenGroup, includes a trove of personal and financial data and details about Toyota’s network infrastructure. Although initially acknowledged by the company, Toyota later clarified that the data was stolen from a third-party entity falsely represented as Toyota rather than the automaker’s systems.
ZeroSevenGroup took to a dark web forum to claim responsibility for the attack, stating it had accessed data from a US branch of Toyota. The group boasted about the magnitude of the stolen information, which reportedly includes contact details, financial records, customer data, employee profiles, internal communications, and even network infrastructure schematics. The hackers used ADRecon, an open-source tool, to extract large amounts of data from active directory systems and pull information.
“We are glad to share the files with you here for free. The data size: 240GB,” the group stated in its post, emphasizing that they had breached one of the largest automakers in the world.
While it is unclear exactly when the data was stolen, the files appear to have been created or taken on December 25, 2022. This timeline coincides with a known breach of Toyota Financial Services (TFS) around that period, though no confirmation has been made regarding whether the two incidents are related.
Upon initial inquiries by Bleeping Computer, Toyota acknowledged the leak but downplayed its impact, describing it as a “limited” issue and assuring that the affected parties had been notified. However, the following day, the company shifted its narrative, stating that the data breach did not compromise Toyota Motor North America’s systems but involved a third-party entity falsely portrayed as Toyota. Despite requests for more information, Toyota has declined to disclose the name of the third party involved.
The leaked data, which allegedly includes highly sensitive information such as customer financial details, employee data, and network infrastructure designs, poses a significant security risk. With 240GB of data exposed, the potential consequences for both individuals and Toyota are substantial, ranging from identity theft to further cyberattacks.
