Japanese publishing giant Nikkei has disclosed that unknown attackers recently compromised the email accounts of two employees.
Nikkei Reveals Email Account Breaches After Attackers Send Thousands of Phishing Messages
According to the company, the incidents involved both Google Workspace and Microsoft email accounts. Nikkei said the attackers gained unauthorized access to an employee’s Google Workspace account in late July, potentially exposing personal information belonging to employees and business partners.
The company became aware of the Google account compromise in early August after receiving a notification from Google indicating suspicious activity. Nikkei subsequently reset the affected employee’s password and took measures to secure the account.
The compromised account was reportedly abused by the attackers to send a large volume of phishing emails. Thousands of messages were distributed, raising concerns that recipients could have been targeted in further attempts to steal passwords, financial information or other sensitive data.
Nikkei also confirmed that another employee’s email account had been compromised. The company is investigating both incidents to determine how the attackers obtained access and what information may have been exposed.
The breaches highlight the growing risks faced by organizations that rely heavily on cloud-based email and collaboration platforms. Even when companies use major services such as Google Workspace and Microsoft, compromised employee credentials can provide attackers with an entry point into corporate communications and sensitive information.
Nikkei said it has been strengthening security measures following the incidents and is investigating the scope and impact of the unauthorized access.
The company has also urged employees and business partners to remain cautious of suspicious emails, particularly messages that may appear to originate from legitimate Nikkei accounts.
The incidents serve as another reminder that phishing, stolen credentials and compromised corporate email accounts remain major cybersecurity threats, allowing attackers to exploit trusted communication channels to target large numbers of victims.
