An NTT Communications (NTT Com) employee in Tokyo has confirmed that in February, unauthorized access to sensitive data belonging to approximately 18,000 corporate customers was caused by a cyberattack. There is no definitive estimate of how extensive the breach is, as well as the impact it will have on individual users.
In this case, NTT Com's cybersecurity team detected unauthorized access to an internal system that handles service orders on February 5, which led to the detection of the security incident.
A company investigation revealed that malicious actors infiltrated its infrastructure and compromised confidential business data by successfully infiltrating it, resulting in an internal investigation of the matter.
In addition to the fact that NTT Com is one of the largest providers of network and telecommunication solutions in the world, the company has expressed concern regarding possible ramifications of the breach. To prevent further risks from occurring, the company has assured stakeholders that they are actively assessing the scope of the incident and implementing appropriate security measures.
There has been a data breach reported by NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), a leading Japanese provider of information and communication technology (ICT) services, affecting approximately 18,000 corporations. As a consequence of an unknown threat actor gaining unauthorized access to the company's internal systems on February 5, 2025, which contained critical information related to services provided to customers, the incident was first identified on February 5, 2025.
It was NTT Com's responsibility to restrict access to the compromised system as soon as suspicious communication activity was detected to minimize potential risks associated with the compromised system. However, further investigation on February 15, 2025, revealed that another system had also been compromised, causing the company to implement immediate measures to contain the problem.
There was an intruder that succeeded in stealing sensitive data from 17,891 corporate clients, including contract numbers, company names, contact details of individual contact persons, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, physical addresses, and data about the use of service.
In response to this breach, NTT Com has been in touch with all affected customers directly to inform them of the breach and to provide any necessary guidance they may require.
Furthermore, the company has reinvented its cybersecurity framework to prevent future security incidents and actively works to maintain industry standards in the protection of customer data to mitigate the risks arising from this recent hack and cybersecurity incident.
"NTT Com remains committed to safeguarding client data and is actively working to enhance its security protocols.".
There has been an attempted breach of the Order Information Distribution System by threat actors, a platform containing details about 17,891 corporate clients of NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com). However, the NTT Com breach did not impact consumers' data as individuals.
This incident compromised the information about corporate customers (registered contract names), representatives' names, contract numbers, phone numbers, email addresses, physical addresses, and details regarding their service usage.
However, NTT Docomo has not been affected by this incident as far as their contracts with corporations that have used mobile phones and smartphones provided directly by the company were concerned.
As soon as the company discovered the breach on February 5, 2025, it immediately restricted the attackers' access the following day to stop them from gaining access. However, further investigations on February 15, 2025, revealed that the threat actors had switched to another device within NTT's network.
Immediately after disconnecting the device, the company made sure there would be no further lateral movement, and the company has assured that the breach has been secured.
This incident has resulted in NTT Com deciding that it would not be necessary to send personalized notifications to all affected customers. As a result, a public announcement on NTT Com's official website will be the only communication regarding the incident. To ensure the integrity of the data of the company's corporate clients, we remain committed to maintaining our cybersecurity measures.
The NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) has not yet made any disclosures regarding how many individuals in the affected organizations might have had their personal information compromised during the recent data breach, nor has it provided any specifics regarding who the corporate clients whose data was stolen are, nor has the company disclosed the identities of the companies that the data breach has impacted.
Several NTT Com clients are served by the company across 70 countries, making the potential impact of this incident very significant, according to its official website.
TechCrunch did not receive immediate responses from NTT Com when it contacted TechCrunch outside of its normal working hours, but according to the official statement issued by the company, NTT Com reaffirmed that it immediately limited access to the initially compromised system once it was discovered that it had been compromised.
However, despite these containment measures, an internal investigation revealed that, on February 15, 2025, hackers had infiltrated another device within the company's network, which was quickly disconnected to stop further unauthorized access from occurring.
At this point, there has been no identification of the perpetrators behind the cyberattack and no information has been provided regarding the specific methods used during the attack.
The NTT Com investigation continues, and as it works to safeguard clients' data and prevent future security threats, NTT Com is also focused on strengthening its cybersecurity framework to prevent future security threats and safeguard client data.
Even though NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Japan, cybercriminals are often targeting it in the hopes of disrupting its operations or stealing sensitive data from it as a result of these attacks.
In January 2025, NTT Com experienced a 12-hour service outage that affected its mobile services and payments platforms, despite its extensive infrastructure and huge customer base, which made it an attractive target for malicious actors. The outage was later attributed to a large-scale DDoS attack which caused the outage.
There has been an extensive disruption to operations in response to this disruption, which highlights the increasing threat that cyberattacks pose to critical telecommunications infrastructure. NTT Com has also suffered previously from data breaches. In May 2020, threat actors successfully penetrated the internal network of the company, stealing sensitive customer information.
Due to these recurring security incidents, it is evident that major telecom operators are facing persistent cyber threats. This reinforces the importance of continuous advancements in cybersecurity measures for safeguarding critical systems and customer data.
As cyber threats become more sophisticated and persistent, major telecommunications providers are facing increasing risks as a result of these breaches.
As a result of this incident, people are reminded that even though the majority of businesses have robust security infrastructures, they remain vulnerable to determined adversaries. Digital transformation is rapidly accelerating and businesses increasingly rely on cloud-based and networked solutions, making strengthening cybersecurity defenses even more important than ever.
To minimize potential risks, organizations should adopt proactive security strategies that include continuous monitoring, threat intelligence integration, and advanced incident response mechanisms. As part of the mitigation process, organizations should ensure that while NTT Com has assured that the breach has been contained and security enhancements are in progress, this event emphasizes the importance of reassessing the resilience of companies to cyber threats. It remains the question, what is the state of preparedness of similar global enterprises in the event of similar attacks and how they can deal with them?
Keeping abreast of the advances in cybercrime at an unprecedented pace, every company's security agenda must place increasing importance on the advancement of digital defenses to prevent this epidemic from spreading.
As the investigation into the incident continues, the telecom giant's response will likely play an important role in shaping the future policies around cybersecurity across the industry. NTT Com's breach should not be viewed simply as a lesson for the company; rather, it should be viewed as a wake-up call for all companies entrusted with sensitive data in the future.
