Mainichi subscriber info leaks on Net via Share

The Mainichi Shimbun announced Thursday that information on about 66,000 subscribers has leaked onto the Internet via a new file-sharing application called Share.

Share differs from the notorious Winny but has similar functions. Share can be infected by computer viruses that cause it to transfer data from a local hard drive to the Internet.

Although leaks caused by Share have been reported since January, the Mainichi case is the first major incident involving the program, said officials at Trend Micro, a major antivirus vendor.

The information taken from the major daily includes names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and e-mail addresses, but no financial information, the Mainichi said.

The leak was discovered Wednesday by a special team of Mainichi reporters covering cybercrime and terrorism.

Mainichi officials said the information was taken from a data base being used by an affiliate that was operating a readers' club called Mainichi Friend. The group was closed in late March.

According to the newspaper, an employee moved the data to his own computer, which had Share installed. His computer is then believed to have been infected with a virus, they said, adding that the exact date of the leak is still under investigation. It is not clear why the employee took the information.

Mainichi officials quoted the employee as saying he never thought his PC was infected. He also had Winny installed on the computer.

"At this point, no damage has been reported as a result of this leakage, but we deeply apologize to the (former) members of the club," an official at Mainichi's sales department said.