Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry: intrusion into its online exam management system; data on up to about 980,000 candidates may be exposed

On 4 November the system management company reported unauthorized access to the online exam management system that testing centres use for bookings and results. A malicious program file had been placed on 1 November. It was deleted at once and a vulnerability patch applied late that night. Candidates themselves do not use this system. [1]

On 9 November the investigation found that data on up to about 980,000 candidates may have leaked, and the case was reported to the Personal Information Protection Commission that day. No leak or misuse has been confirmed. The fix is in place and online exams run as normal. [1]

Candidates who sat the online versions of eight exams, including bookkeeping, Retail Marketing, Nissho PC and Business English, from 1 April 2022 to 4 November 2026: name and reading, gender, birth date, pass/fail and scores, plus optional email, phone and address. Up to about 980,000 people and about 1.97 million records. No payment data is included. [1]