US customers of one of Japan’s most trusted brands for perverts may be feeling a little uneasy this week. Japanese manufacturer Tenga acknowledged it was the victim of a data breach impacting a “limited segment” of its American base.
A sex toy unlike any other
Tenga is a manufacturer of masturbatory sex toys primarily for men. Led by ex-mechanic Matsumoto Koichi (who, I’m assuming, knows a thing or two about priming the pump, if you know what I mean), the company has won awards and an international fan base for the unique design of its products.
The 28-person company, whose name means “elegant” in Japanese, is staffed with experts in the art of jerking off. Satō Masanobu, the Director of Overseas Business, reportedly holds the world record for the longest time spent masturbating at a skin-chafing 9 hours and 58 minutes. (Ouch?)
As opposed to other manufacturers, Tenga doesn’t pattern its product after the female vagina. Instead, it fashions itself as the Apple of the sex toy industry, and aims for a stylish presentation in its advertising that avoids overt sexual imagery.
Tenga frequently releases surveys tracking the state of sex both in Japan and around the world. Frequent UJ readers may remember its survey from way back when that found food was more popular in Japan than sex.
Company reassures Japanese customers
Tenga acknowledged the US data breach in a post in English on its website. According to the manufacturer, someone compromised a single email account belonging to someone in customer service. The attacker gained access to the account and then used it to send a spam email containing an attachment. It’s not clear what the attachment was intended to do.
A small portion of customer records, including customers’ names, email addresses, and conversations with Tenga representatives, was potentially exposed. Tenga emphasized that no financial information, such as credit card numbers, was exposed in the breach. It also emphasized that the attack did not compromise any of its core data stores that hold such sensitive information.
More importantly for Japanese customers, the company emphasized that this only affects a small portion of its US customer base and that no Japanese accounts were compromised. That’s critical in Japan, where sex largely remains a taboo topic.
In a statement in Japanese on X, the company said, “both the Japanese and international TENGA official e-commerce sites are managed under stricter security protocols” (TENGA公式ECサイトは日本・海外ともに、より厳格なセキュリティで管理されており). This appears to refer to the enhanced security measures used to protect its e-commerce systems in Japan and abroad.
Want more news and views from Japan? Donate $5/month ($60 one-time donation) to the Unseen Japan Journalism Fund to join Unseen Japan Insider. You'll get our Insider newsletter with more news and deep dives, a chance to get your burning Japan questions answered, and a voice in our future editorial direction.
How Tenga is responding
According to press reports, the attack on the Tenga employee’s account was a Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack. This is a form of social engineering in which an attacker impersonates a trusted leader within the company to gain access to sensitive personal or financial information.
In response, Tenga said it reset the affected employee’s account. According to TechCrunch, the company has also instituted Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) access for its employees’ accounts. (The company said it already used MFA and “rigorous user management” to protect its data stores containing customer financial information.)
The company said that customers should be unaffected if they didn’t run the suspicious attachment sent via email. It encouraged all customers to use common “recommended security practices,” such as regularly changing their account passwords and not reusing passwords across accounts, to remain safe.
Get More UJ
What to read next
How did a fully AI-generated manga hit number one in Japan? And what does its success portend for the future of the industry?
More Japanese women are going overseas for prostitution. That’s leading to women outside the industry being turned back at the border.
Ex-mayor Ogawa Akira insists the 10+ times she went to a love hotel with another city employee were strictly business.
Sources
TENGAの米国拠点で顧客情報が一部漏えい→ネットがざわつく→日本でも声明「流出はない」. ITMedia
Clarification on the Recent Email Incident for US Customers. TENGA
Sex toys maker Tenga says hacker stole customer information. TechCrunch
Understanding business email compromise (BEC). Microsoft
Tenga (company). Wikipedia
