Panasonic Avionics Corporation, a leading supplier of in-flight communication and entertainment systems, has disclosed a data breach affecting an unspecified number of people after its corporate network was breached more than a year ago, in December 2022.
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The attacker compromised a subset of devices on the corporate network and gained access to what he describes as information collected from affected people and their employers.
“On December 30, 2022, Panasonic identified evidence of an issue that may be affecting certain systems on our corporate network, which occurred on or about December 14, 2022,” said in data breach notification letters filed with the California Attorney General’s Office last week.
“We immediately began an extensive investigation into the nature and extent of the incident and the personnel information affected, engaging cybersecurity and network forensics experts to assist in investigating the incident, assessing what information may have been affected, and identifying individuals associated with that information.“
Although some personal and health information was exposed during the incident, Panasonic has yet to find evidence that it was misused by the attack.
Information impacted during the breach includes the names of affected individuals, contact information (email address, mailing address, and phone), dates of birth, medical insurance and health information, financial account numbers, employment status, and government identification numbers, such as Social Security numbers.
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Panasonic will provide 24 months of free identity and credit monitoring services through Kroll for all affected individuals, warning them to check reports for signs of suspicious activity.
A spokesperson for Panasonic Avionics Corporation told BleepingComputer that the impact of the incident was limited to a limited number of employee and business customer data.
The company also informed the relevant authorities: “We have not identified any evidence of an impact on in-flight entertainment systems, connectivity, digital solutions or maintenance systems. PAC operations were not affected in any way.”
Panasonic in-flight entertainment solutions are installed on over 15,000 commercial aircraft, with more than 3,780 providing customers with satellite Wi-Fi through Panasonic Avionics.
Over 200 airlines use its services for IFE, Wi-Fi and digital services on their aircraft, representing approximately 70% of the global fleet equipped with IFE.
See also: Paramount Global: Announces data breach
The first key step in protecting data is user education. Individuals and businesses need to be aware of the risks associated with data security and how to prevent breaches.
The second step is to use strong passwords and change them regularly. Also, using two-factor authentication can provide an extra layer of security.
Additionally, it is important to update software and security systems regularly, as attackers often exploit vulnerabilities in older versions.
Using encryption tools to protect sensitive data is also a good practice. This can protect the data even in the event of a breach.
Finally, creating and implementing a breach response strategy can help individuals and businesses react quickly and effectively in the event of a data breach.
Source: bleepingcomputer
