Laurel Bank Machines: ransomware hit its AI-OCR service "Jijilla", and about 223,000 survey and record forms of clients of Nomura Research Institute, Hiroshima Bank, Keio University and others may have leaked through the outsourcing chain

1. 2025-09-25

   The server of the AI-OCR service "Jijilla" was hit by an attack with a ransom demand. Customers reported that the service was unavailable, and the company confirmed it. Files on the server were lost and some services stopped. [1]

2. 2025-10-16

   Laurel Bank Machines announced the unauthorized access and possible leak of personal data. [1] [2]

3. 2025-10-29

   Hiroshima Bank announced that the names of two of its customers had leaked through Nomura Research Institute and Aspect Core. [3]

4. 2025-11-04

   Keio University's Correspondence Education Division announced that information on its correspondence courses had leaked in the attack on Jijilla used by its contractor. [4]

5. 2025-11-14

   Persol Research Institute announced that data from work it had taken on from a client was affected, because Aspect Core, to which it outsourced data entry, used Jijilla. [5]

6. 2025-11-25

   Iyo Bank announced the unauthorized access to Jijilla, which a subcontractor of its contractor had used. [6]

7. 2026-01-09

   As a result of its forensic investigation, it announced that the data at risk covered about 223,000 forms, about 550,000 answer items. [1]

The data at risk is about 223,000 forms (about 550,000 items) of mostly unsigned survey answers processed with Jijilla, plus names and email addresses of 18 staff at client companies and 361 trial registrants. Nomura Research Institute processes survey data for several financial institutions, and its subcontractor Aspect Core used Jijilla, so the effect reached the institutions that had commissioned the work. [1] [2] [3]

At Hiroshima Bank the names of two customers were affected, and at Keio University information on its correspondence courses. Data from work Persol Research Institute took on from a client was also affected. [3] [4] [5]