The Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship Foundation has confirmed that a third party gained unauthorized access to its website at the end of July 2024. A subsequent investigation found evidence of a potential leakage of information that individuals who received scholarships in fiscal 2013 or earlier entered on the "Recipients Only" page.* We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern this may cause. We are also individually contacting and apologizing to the scholarship recipients whose personal information may have been leaked.
*A page designed to encourage interaction and exchange among scholarship recipients

1. Information that may have been leaked

Personal information (name, gender, affiliation and contact information at the time, etc.) that individuals who received scholarships in fiscal year 2013 or earlier entered on the "Recipients Only" page.

2. Details on the response to the potential leakage and measures to prevent recurrence

After learning of the unauthorized access to the Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship Foundation website at the end of July 2024, we shut down the entire website. With the help of outside security experts, we then conducted an investigation and determined that the unauthorized access had exploited website software vulnerabilities. The investigation also found evidence indicating that a third party had transmitted data from the website to an external recipient.
To prevent recurrence, we have removed all personal information on the website by disabling the "Recipients Only" page　and deleting data related to the scholarship-recipient community. We will also work with outside security experts to improve the security of the website.
Finally, we sincerely apologize for taking this long to determine the cause and scope of the unauthorized access and assess the impact.

3. Other information

The "Application Support System" (accessible via the "Apply Now" button shown below) operates on a separate website that was not affected by the unauthorized access. Information that users have entered into the system is not within the scope of the potential leakage.

For more information, please contact:
Otsuka Toshimi Scholarship Foundation Office
Tel: 06-6105-0870