Nissan Motor Company and Nissan Financial Services in Australia and New Zealand are reaching out to approximately 100,000 individuals who have had their personal information compromised in a Cyber Attack that occurred late last year.
The affected individuals include some Nissan customers, dealers, current and former employees, as well as customers of Nissan Financial Services’ affiliated brands such as Mitsubishi, Renault, Skyline, Infiniti, LDV, and RAMS.
The leaked data varies for each person, with approximately 10 percent having had some form of government identification compromised, including passports, Medicare cards, driver’s licenses, and tax file numbers.
For the remaining 90 percent, other personal information such as loan-related transactions, employment details, salary information, or dates of birth may have been impacted.
The cyber attack, which took place on December 5, 2023, was carried out by a malicious third party that gained unauthorized access to Nissan’s IT servers in Australia and New Zealand. Immediate action was taken to contain the breach, and relevant government authorities were alerted.
Nissan Australia and New Zealand are providing support services to individuals affected by the breach, including IDCARE, free credit monitoring, and reimbursement for the replacement of government IDs recommended by the issuing authority.
A dedicated customer support phone line is available for inquiries and assistance during weekdays from 7 AM to 7 PM AEDT in Australia (1800 958 000) and in New Zealand (0800 44 50 14).
Affected individuals are encouraged to take advantage of these services to mitigate any potential risks associated with the cyber attack and safeguard their personal information.
In addition to the measures outlined earlier, Nissan Australia advises the community to exercise caution by remaining vigilant for any unusual online activity and refraining from interacting with suspicious emails, links, or attachments.
Individuals are urged to stay alert for any unsolicited requests for personal information, verify the legitimacy of communication sources, regularly update passwords with strong combinations, and enable multi-factor authentication for online accounts where possible. Furthermore, any scams should be promptly reported to Scamwatch.
Andrew Mayer, Managing Director of Nissan Financial Services, empathized with the concern caused by the data breach and assured affected individuals of the company’s commitment to providing support and implementing necessary improvements to prevent future occurrences.
Support services, including access to ID Care, free credit monitoring, and reimbursement for government identification, have been established to assist those affected.
Nissan acknowledges the gravity of the situation and extends sincere apologies to all affected customers, dealers, and staff members, emphasizing their dedication to learning from the incident and enhancing security measures to mitigate similar risks in the future.