If personal data is stolen, it is anything but a pleasure for those affected. However, when it comes to those previously involved in, or victims of, organized crime, the potential consequences are far more serious: Life and limb could be at stake.
While it may sound a little far-fetched, this apparently what happened in the Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto, at a state counseling center dedicated to the prevention of violence, as CSOonline’s German edition reports.
The Kumamoto Prefecture Anti-Violence Movement Promotion Center promises free and confidential counselling services to people who are associated with (or threatened by) yakuzas, Japan’s gangster organizations.
“Sorry?”
As the counselling center recently announced on its website, one of its employees fell victim to a tech support scam in mid-November and gave the attackers remote access to his computer. The employee promptly realized his mistake and immediately cut the power and network supply to his system. “But we cannot rule out the possibility that personal data has been leaked,” admit those responsible, warning people who may be affected not to respond to contact requests by email or telephone that supposedly come from employees of the organization.
As is customary in Japan, the communication also contains an explicit apology.
In this particular case, however, it seems even more inappropriate than on other occasions: “We deeply apologize for the great inconvenience caused to those affected by this incident. We take this matter very seriously and will work on our security measures to prevent an incident of this nature from happening again.”
