Data breach disclosed by Askul after RansomHouse claims

Askul, a Japanese office and household goods retailer, has revealed the compromise of customer and supplier information following a RansomHouse ransomware intrusion last month that purportedly led to the exfiltration of 1.1 TB of data, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

Such a ransomware attack which was previously reported to have affected the supply chains of leading Japanese retailers Muji and The Loft led to the exposure of data belonging to customers of the Askul, Lohaco, and Soloel Arena online stores, as well as internal server-stored supplier details, said Askul in a statement.

An investigation into RansomHouse's claims is underway. Askul's disclosure comes as Japanese firms have been bombarded by a slew of cyberattacks in recent months, with automotive parts maker TEIN reporting its operations to have been disrupted by a ransomware intrusion last week and leading brewery Asahi Group Holdings having its production impacted by a Qilin ransomware attack in late September.