Tokyo: Japanese automaker Toyota issued an apology on Friday to over 296,000 customers who use its T-connect smartphone app as their personal data may have been leaked.
“Toyota Motor Corporation discovered that the email addresses and customer numbers of 296,019 users who have contracted with the T-Connect service may have been leaked. We sincerely apologize for causing great inconvenience and concern to our customers,” the manufacturer posted on its website.
The T-Connect app connects with the vehicle and provides driving data, such as fuel consumption and driving time to users’ phones. It also warns them about possible vehicle malfunctions.
The data leak was caused by a subcontractor leaving part of the source code set to “public” in December 2017. The mistake was only discovered on September 15.
Toyota said that names, phone and credit card numbers had not been compromised, and third-party access had not been confirmed so far. It has promised to get in touch individually with all customers who may have been affected, and has set up a call-center to handle their inquiries.
