NEWS
Part of Information related to Senior Theses and Master's Theses at ICU was Accessible from Outside the University via the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC)
Update: July 2, 2025
International Christian University Library
It has come to our attention that certain data related to senior theses and master's theses (thesis titles, author names [Japanese and English], student IDs, graduation dates, majors/departments, and advisor names), which should have only been accessible to ICU members, was searchable and viewable on TACOPAC,* a webpage of the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) that member institutions of the Tama Academic Consortium (TAC) can use. We have already made the necessary changes to prevent this information from being displayed.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern this may have caused to students, alumni, and all other relevant parties. *A system of mutual use of libraries established by a consortium of universities composed of six universities in the Tama region.
1. Background
On April 30, 2025, we received notification from a library of a member university of the Tama Academic Consortium that certain data related to senior theses and master's theses from International Christian University were searchable via TACOPAC. In response, we requested an investigation from the library system contractor on April 30, and it was discovered that there was an error in the TACOPAC settings. As a result, we implemented the necessary corrections and changes on the same day.
On June 9, 2025, it was discovered that the certain data stated above could be accessed by directly entering the URL. On the same day, we deleted the data completely to prevent them from being accessed.
2. Personal information that was accessible
(1) Items of personal information
Student name, student ID, title of senior thesis or master's thesis, graduation date, major/department, advisor's name
*The thesis itself was not accessible.
(2) Period, etc.
Of senior theses submitted to the College of Liberal Arts of International Christian University and master's theses submitted to the Graduate School of International Christian University between March 2003 and March 2020, data for which permission for internal publication was obtained
3. Secondary damage
To date, no specific cases of information leakage, unauthorized access from external sources, or misuse of the personal information in question have been confirmed.
4. Response status
On April 30, 2025, we changed the settings of TACOPAC, and we completely deleted the relevant data on June 9 of the same year, making it impossible to search for the data. We have also reported the matter to the Personal Information Protection Commission of the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
5. Cause and preventive measures
Following an investigation conducted with the contracted vendor, it was determined that the cause was a configuration error made by the ICU Library during a system update.
To prevent a recurrence of such an incident, we will maintain close collaboration with the contracted vendor and ensure that access controls are properly implemented in accordance with the university's intentions when systems are installed, changed, or updated. Additionally, we will conduct regular checks to confirm that appropriate access control settings are in place when importing data for internal use.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience and concern this incident has caused to those affected. At this time, there is no confirmed evidence that the personal information in question has been misused. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the inquiry desk below:
International Christian University Library
Inquiry Form