So-net, the Japanese access provider owned by Sony Network Communications, has confirmed that intruders who reached its member database walked off with more than two million people’s data.
The break-in happened on October 19 and was noticed four days later. So-net shut the server down and severed the link the intruder used, then completed its assessment the following day. Regulators at Japan’s privacy commission have been told.
Members on the books today account for 1,869,771 of them, with 272,215 more who quit in March 2026 or later. A second tranche of 443,495 belongs to plala S Course subscribers, roughly 21,130 of them former customers. Copied fields span contact details, dates of birth and gender, plus assigned user and connection identifiers.
Fifty-four thousand passwords in the clear
A separate slice is worse for the people involved. Attackers obtained both the address and the password for 54,401 accounts spread across four email services. The most common is the free Mail Service (G). Paid tiers, A-Box, So-net VAIO Mail and PostPet, cover the remainder. Every one was reset on October 27.
Sixteen bank records surfaced as well, each holding a bank and branch name, the account type, number and the holder’s name. So-net says it holds no account PINs, and no plala users appear in that portion.
What members should do
Change credentials from a trusted device and treat unexpected messages with suspicion. So-net warns follow-on approaches using the stolen data are likely, and advises against opening links in unsolicited messages.
A phone line and FAQ page are live, and affected members will be contacted individually. The notice states the main membership records carried no passwords and that NURO escaped untouched. Separately, PlayStation Network users reported unknown child accounts appearing in their family groups, a claim Sony Interactive Entertainment has not addressed.
