Data Fraud Found at Kyushu Electric

Jiji Press

11:21 JST, January 20, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — An industry ministry panel has ordered Kyushu Electric Power Co. to report on an incident in which some of its employees were found to have fraudulently browsed client information managed by a subsidiary.

The Electricity and Gas Market Surveillance Commission said Wednesday that Kyushu Electric employees had been fraudulently accessing information on clients of so-called power producers and suppliers, or PPSs, under the management of Kyushu Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Co. PPSs send electricity to consumers via networks of transmission companies. The panel ordered Kyushu Electric and the subsidiary to submit reports by Feb. 3.

Kyushu Electric is the third major power company in Japan found to have engaged in unauthorized browsing of PPS client information.

Despite there being no large-scale power outages, such data was accessed from 295 PCs on Dec. 20-26. The information included names and phone numbers of clients, as well as data on their electricity consumption.