Sony Network Communications resets passwords after 2,585,481-record breach
The company reset affected email passwords on October 27. Customers must choose new ones to resume sending and receiving mail.
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The company reset affected email passwords on October 27. Customers must choose new ones to resume sending and receiving mail.
Sony Network Communications reset compromised email passwords on October 27, requiring affected customers to choose new ones to restore email access. The company confirmed exposure of 2,585,481 customer records and passwords for 54,401 email addresses in a breach of its Japanese internet services, BleepingComputer said on October 28.
The intrusion began on October 19. In its October 27 notice, the company said it detected the access on October 23, promptly shut down the affected servers and blocked communications from the source of the intrusion. It established the exposed information categories and counts on October 24. Its support guide says no further leakage had been confirmed since the shutdown.
Sony Network Communications is a Sony Group Corporation subsidiary and internet provider in Japan. It runs So-net. The affected plala (S Course) records concern NTT Docomo, which contracts the company to provide Docomo Hikari services.
The company’s notice covers current So-net and plala (S Course) members and former members who left in March 2026 or later. It says members who left by the end of February were not affected.
| Service | Current members | Eligible former members |
|---|
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| So-net | 1,869,771 | 272,215 | 2,141,986 |
| plala (S Course) | 422,365 | 21,130 | 443,495 |
These are record counts, not a confirmed total of unique people. The 54,401 email addresses belong to current and eligible former So-net members within the affected group, so they do not represent that many additional customers. The company has not given a customer total with duplicate entries removed.
Exposed membership information included names, phone numbers, email addresses, user IDs, birth dates, gender and internet-connection IDs. User IDs identify accounts on the customer portal; connection IDs are used to connect to the internet. The company says passwords for those membership and connection accounts were not exposed. The compromised email passwords were a separate category.
Banking information was also affected: the company confirmed exposure of 16 records containing bank and branch details, account types, account numbers and account-holder names. This did not involve plala (S Course) members, and the company says it does not hold bank-account PINs. None of the exposed categories contained credit-card information.
Seven records containing information from password-reset notices were also exposed; the company says it reset the relevant passwords. It has not confirmed leakage involving other services, including NURO.
Four email services had addresses and passwords exposed. The company says those credentials could have allowed someone to read, send and receive email. Its free basic mailbox was not among the affected email-password services.
| Email service | Addresses |
|---|---|
| Mail Service (G) | 24,655 |
| A-Box | 17,672 |
| So-net VAIO Mail | 7,005 |
| PostPet Mail Account Service | 5,069 |
The forced password resets began at about 10 a.m. on October 27. Subscribers can check which services they use through their So-net account page, then follow the service-specific reset procedures in the company’s support guide. Customers using email software must also replace the password stored in that software. Those using only browser-based email should check that they can sign in with the new password.
As of October 27, neither Sony Network Communications nor NTT Docomo had confirmed misuse of the exposed data, BleepingComputer said. NTT Docomo also warned customers about messages and fake websites falsely promising prize tickets in exchange for personal information.
Sony Network Communications warns that the leaked information could be used for suspicious contacts. It advises customers not to respond to suspicious emails, text messages or calls, and not to open links or attachments in those messages.
The company has reported the incident to Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission. The cause and detailed extent of the exposure remain under investigation. It plans to contact affected customers individually, review its security and information-management measures, and publish further findings as they emerge.
A dedicated customer-support line, 0120-36-8887, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. The company also plans to open the line on November 1 and November 3.
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