Nissan Motor has disclosed a customer data breach tied to unauthorized access at one of its contractors, Red Hat. The incident involves a data server used during development of a customer management system for Nissan sales companies and resulted in the exposure of personal information belonging to roughly 21,000 customers in Japan.
According to Nissan, Red Hat detected the unauthorized access on September 26, 2025. The access was quickly blocked, and measures were put in place to prevent any further intrusion. A subsequent investigation confirmed that some of the affected data included customer information from Nissan Fukuoka Sales, formerly known as Fukuoka Nissan Motor.
Nissan says it received formal notification from Red Hat on October 3 and immediately reported the incident to Japan’s Personal Information Protection Commission. Customers believed to be affected have already been contacted directly. At this time, there is no evidence that the leaked information has been misused, but Nissan is urging customers to remain cautious about suspicious phone calls, emails, or postal mail.
The exposed data includes names, addresses, phone numbers, partial email addresses, and other customer related information used for sales activities. Nissan emphasized that credit card information was not included. The company also stated that the server involved did not store additional customer data beyond what was exposed, and that no further leakage is expected.
Nissan and Red Hat have not disclosed technical details about the affected server, including the operating system in use. Given Red Hat’s position as a leading enterprise Linux vendor, it is reasonable to assume the infrastructure was Linux based. However, there is no indication that the incident involved a Linux vulnerability or a flaw in Red Hat Enterprise Linux itself. Based on the information released so far, the breach appears to be tied to unauthorized access and operational security controls rather than the underlying operating system.
The affected customers are individuals who purchased vehicles or used service facilities at the former Fukuoka Nissan Motor, now Nissan Fukuoka Sales. Nissan estimates the number of impacted customers at approximately 21,000.
Nissan says it is taking the incident seriously and plans to strengthen oversight of its contractors while further tightening its information security practices. The company closed its notice with a renewed apology to customers and related parties for the concern and inconvenience caused.
