Data breach hits Dentsu subsidiary Merkle

U.S.-based customer experience management firm Merkle, a subsidiary of leading Japanese advertising company Dentsu Group, was confirmed to have had its customer and staff data pilfered following a cyberattack, BleepingComputer reports.

Infiltration of the network of Merkle, which counts Microsoft, Intel, P&G, and Sanofi among its clients, allowed the exfiltration of current and former employees' bank and payroll information, salaries, contact details, and National Insurance numbers, as well as data from certain clients and suppliers, according to a Dentsu spokesperson, who emphasized that none of the firm's network systems in Japan were affected by the intrusion.

Investigation into the incident, which has not yet been claimed by any ransomware operation, is still ongoing.

"We immediately initiated our incident response procedures, proactively shut down certain systems as a precaution, and took swift measures to minimize the impact," said Dentsu in a statement, which noted prompt data breach reporting to all relevant authorities.