Sony Life announces a leak of about 385,000 records: who is affected?
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The 28 October statement concerns Medicare Life contracts distributed by Sony Life. A data leak and the fraudulent use of data are two distinct facts.
In this article
The facts announced
Sony Life announced on 28 October a leak of about 385,000 records after unauthorised access to its customer systems. The incident was detected on 27 October. The causes and the extent of the consequences are being investigated.
Which data?
The data concern policyholders and insured persons of Medicare Life, whose contracts Sony Life distributed. They include names, addresses and contract information. The company rules out credit card and direct-debit account data.
Access to services
A notice states that web services and the app have been suspended since 8 am in Japan on 28 October. At the date of that notice, no restoration date had been set. Urgent procedures are directed to the official contacts.
Useful vigilance
The company says it had found no fraudulent use as of 28 October. This does not guarantee there is no later risk. It reminds customers that it never asks for a password or confidential code by email or phone.
Learn the grammar
French grammar
Learn sentence patterns and usage from the article’s own sentences.
01Negation with aucun
ne / n’ + verb + aucun + noun
L’entreprise indique n’avoir constaté aucun usage frauduleux au 28 octobre.Key pointsAucun means “not a single one”. Here n’avoir constaté aucun usage frauduleux says that no fraudulent use has been found. Aucun carries the negation itself, so pas is not added. Not having found something is not the same as it being impossible.
02The passé composé for events
present of avoir + past participle
Sony Life a annoncé le 28 octobre une fuite d’environ 385 000 enregistrements après un accès non autorisé à ses systèmes clients.Key pointsIt reports past events, as in “announced” or “explained”. A / ont is the auxiliary avoir and the next word is the past participle. The passé composé alone does not tell you the date of the event.
03The present of être
est / sont + complement
Une fuite de données et leur utilisation frauduleuse sont deux faits distincts.Key pointsEst is third-person singular and sont third-person plural of être. They express “is / are” — a state or description. If a past participle follows, it is a different structure such as the passive, so check the words that follow.
04Dates and their prepositions
le + 日付 / du … au …
Le communiqué du 28 octobre concerne des contrats de Medicare Life distribués par Sony Life.Key pointsLe 15 octobre means “on 15 October”. Distinguish the le before a date from the le that marks a weekly habit like a weekday. Du is de + le and au is à + le, so decide the meaning from the verb and period expressions around them. Their role depends on the group: a range of dates, the date of a bulletin or another complement.
05Marking a starting point
dès / depuis / à partir de + point in time
Une notice indique la suspension de services web et de l’application depuis le 28 octobre à 8 h au Japon.Key pointsDès means “as early as” or “as soon as”, and à partir de means “from … onwards”. Depuis basically shows a state or period continuing from a point in time. All deal with a start, but they are not used the same way.
06Coordination with et
word / group / clause + et + …
Les causes et l’étendue des conséquences sont à l’étude.Key pointsEt joins not only words but also groups of nouns and whole clauses. Spot the two elements playing the same role to break up a long sentence. Et does not necessarily express cause and effect.
Japanese grammar
Understand the structure and usage from the text.
01Citing a source: によると
noun + によると
別の案内によると、28日午前8時からウェブサービスやアプリなどが一時停止されています。Key pointsAs in “LCPによると”, it shows where the information comes from. What that source reported follows. It is used differently from “私にとって”, which gives one’s own opinion.
02Polite negation and plain form
〜ではありません / 〜ではない
ただし、今後の悪用がないという保証ではありません。Key pointsThey negate a noun and similar content. “ではありません” is the polite form and “ではない” the plain form. “成立ではありません” shows that it cannot be said to have been concluded.
03Giving examples with など
noun / expression + など
氏名、住所、契約内容などが含まれます。Key points“暴言など” gives “abusive language” as one example. It is not necessarily a closed list of only the things named. It also helps when reading the scope of a news story.
04The polite past ました
verb stem (連用形) + ました
ソニー生命は28日、契約者向けシステムへの不正アクセスにより、約38万5000件の個人情報が漏えいしたと発表しました。Key pointsIn “発表しました”, ました makes a verb polite past. The negative is “ませんでした”. Read the actual date together with the date and time in the text.
05Quoting with と: content and report
plain-form sentence + と + verbe de parole (報じる, 説明する…)
会社は、カード情報や保険料の振替口座情報などは含まれないと説明しています。Key pointsと takes the content that is reported or explained. In “改定する方針だと報じました”, “改定する方針だ” is what the report said. Separating the content from who said it and how makes long sentences easier to read.
06Treating a clause like a noun with こと
plain-form sentence + こと + particle
ソニー生命は、メールや電話でパスワードや暗証番号を聞くことはないと注意を呼びかけています。Key points“〜すること” treats an action or content like a noun. The particle after it (が・を・は…) shows its role in the sentence. “ことができる” is a fixed combination meaning “can”.