Company Details
merkle
5,889
215,902
5416
merkle.com
0
MER_2982662
In-progress

Merkle Company CyberSecurity Posture
merkle.comMerkle, a dentsu company, powers the experience economy. For more than 35 years, the company has put people at the heart of its approach to digital business transformation. As the only integrated experience consultancy in the world with a heritage in data science and business performance, Merkle delivers holistic, end-to-end experiences that drive growth, engagement, and loyalty. Merkle’s expertise has earned recognition as a “Leader” by top industry analyst firms, in categories such as digital transformation and commerce, experience design, engineering and technology integration, digital marketing, data science, CRM and loyalty, and customer data management. With more than 16,000 employees, Merkle operates in 30+ countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.
Company Details
merkle
5,889
215,902
5416
merkle.com
0
MER_2982662
In-progress
Between 700 and 749

Merkle Global Score (TPRM)XXXX

Description: Dentsu’s customer experience unit, **Merkle**, suffered a **cyberattack** resulting in the theft of **sensitive employee data**, including bank/payroll details, salaries, National Insurance numbers, and contact information for **current and former employees** (some dating back over a decade). The breach triggered legal action, with over **150 ex-employees** organizing via WhatsApp to pursue group litigation, alleging Dentsu’s failure to implement adequate security or comply with data retention policies. The UK’s **Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)** is investigating, with potential fines up to **2% of global turnover** or multi-million-dollar penalties. While Dentsu engaged cybersecurity firms and offered credit/dark-web monitoring, affected individuals report **unclear communication** about exposed data, heightening fraud risks. The incident compounds Dentsu’s reputational and financial strain, coinciding with an unrelated **money-laundering probe** in India linked to a third-party acquisition (InDeed), though no direct connection to the Merkle breach was established.
Description: Merkle, a US-based subsidiary of the Japanese multinational advertising giant Dentsu, suffered a cyberattack resulting in the exposure of sensitive data. The breach compromised files containing personal, payroll, and National Insurance details of current and former employees, as well as supplier and client data. The company took immediate action by shutting down certain systems to contain the attack and initiated an investigation with external cybersecurity experts. While the financial impact remains unclear, affected individuals are being notified and offered free dark web monitoring. The attack did not affect Dentsu’s systems in Japan, but the scale of the breach raises concerns given Merkle’s global workforce of over 16,000 employees and annual revenue of approximately $1.5 billion. No ransomware group has claimed responsibility, leaving the attack method unspecified beyond confirmation of data exfiltration.


Merkle has 143.9% more incidents than the average of same-industry companies with at least one recorded incident.
Merkle has 212.5% more incidents than the average of all companies with at least one recorded incident.
Merkle reported 2 incidents this year: 2 cyber attacks, 0 ransomware, 0 vulnerabilities, 0 data breaches, compared to industry peers with at least 1 incident.
Merkle cyber incidents detection timeline including parent company and subsidiaries

Merkle, a dentsu company, powers the experience economy. For more than 35 years, the company has put people at the heart of its approach to digital business transformation. As the only integrated experience consultancy in the world with a heritage in data science and business performance, Merkle delivers holistic, end-to-end experiences that drive growth, engagement, and loyalty. Merkle’s expertise has earned recognition as a “Leader” by top industry analyst firms, in categories such as digital transformation and commerce, experience design, engineering and technology integration, digital marketing, data science, CRM and loyalty, and customer data management. With more than 16,000 employees, Merkle operates in 30+ countries throughout the Americas, EMEA, and APAC.


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Explore insights on cybersecurity incidents, risk posture, and Rankiteo's assessments.
The official website of Merkle is https://www.merkle.com.
According to Rankiteo, Merkle’s AI-generated cybersecurity score is 738, reflecting their Moderate security posture.
According to Rankiteo, Merkle currently holds 0 security badges, indicating that no recognized compliance certifications are currently verified for the organization.
According to Rankiteo, Merkle is not certified under SOC 2 Type 1.
According to Rankiteo, Merkle does not hold a SOC 2 Type 2 certification.
According to Rankiteo, Merkle is not listed as GDPR compliant.
According to Rankiteo, Merkle does not currently maintain PCI DSS compliance.
According to Rankiteo, Merkle is not compliant with HIPAA regulations.
According to Rankiteo,Merkle is not certified under ISO 27001, indicating the absence of a formally recognized information security management framework.
Merkle operates primarily in the Business Consulting and Services industry.
Merkle employs approximately 5,889 people worldwide.
Merkle presently has no subsidiaries across any sectors.
Merkle’s official LinkedIn profile has approximately 215,902 followers.
Merkle is classified under the NAICS code 5416, which corresponds to Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services.
No, Merkle does not have a profile on Crunchbase.
Yes, Merkle maintains an official LinkedIn profile, which is actively utilized for branding and talent engagement, which can be accessed here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/merkle.
As of November 27, 2025, Rankiteo reports that Merkle has experienced 2 cybersecurity incidents.
Merkle has an estimated 17,802 peer or competitor companies worldwide.
Incident Types: The types of cybersecurity incidents that have occurred include Cyber Attack.
Detection and Response: The company detects and responds to cybersecurity incidents through an incident response plan activated with yes (systems shut down, measures taken to minimize impact), and third party assistance with yes (external cybersecurity firm involved), and law enforcement notified with yes (relevant authorities in impacted countries notified), and containment measures with systems taken offline to mitigate attack, and recovery measures with systems restored after mitigation, and communication strategy with public disclosure, notification to affected individuals, offer of free dark web monitoring, and incident response plan activated with yes (cybersecurity firm engaged), and third party assistance with yes (external cybersecurity firm), and law enforcement notified with yes (uk and india), and remediation measures with credit monitoring, remediation measures with dark web monitoring for affected individuals, and communication strategy with initial notification to staff (oct 2025), communication strategy with limited follow-up per employee reports..
Title: Dentsu’s US subsidiary Merkle hit by cyberattack, staff and client data exposed
Description: Japanese multinational advertising and public relations company Dentsu announced that its U.S.-based subsidiary Merkle suffered a cyberattack exposing staff and client data. The company took certain systems offline to mitigate the attack and is investigating with external cybersecurity support. Hackers stole files containing supplier, client, and employee data, including personal, payroll, and National Insurance details. Affected individuals are being notified and offered free dark web monitoring. The financial impact is currently unknown.
Date Detected: 2025-10-30
Date Publicly Disclosed: 2025-10-30
Type: Cyberattack (Data Breach)
Title: Dentsu's Merkle Data Breach and Suumaya Money Laundering Investigation
Description: A cyberattack on Dentsu's Merkle unit led to the theft of sensitive employee and client information, sparking legal action and regulatory scrutiny. Concurrently, Dentsu's Indian business is entangled in a ₹137 crore money-laundering probe linked to the Suumaya Group, involving fake contracts and shell companies. The UK ICO is reviewing the data breach, while India's Enforcement Directorate investigates financial fraud.
Date Publicly Disclosed: 2025-10-01
Type: Data Breach
Motivation: Financial GainData Theft
Common Attack Types: The most common types of attacks the company has faced is Cyber Attack.

Data Compromised: Supplier data, Client data, Employee data (personal details, payroll, national insurance numbers, bank details, salary, contact details)
Systems Affected: Certain network systems (taken offline during mitigation)
Downtime: Partial (some systems shut down and later restored)
Operational Impact: Systems taken offline to mitigate breach; investigation ongoing
Brand Reputation Impact: Potential reputational damage due to exposure of sensitive data
Identity Theft Risk: High (personal and financial data exposed)
Payment Information Risk: High (bank and payroll details compromised)

Data Compromised: Bank details, Payroll details, Salaries, National insurance numbers, Contact information
Systems Affected: Merkle’s network
Customer Complaints: High (150+ ex-employees in WhatsApp group pursuing legal action)
Brand Reputation Impact: Significant (employee frustration, legal threats, regulatory scrutiny)
Legal Liabilities: Potential ICO fines (up to 2% of global turnover)Employee compensation claimsMoney laundering investigation
Identity Theft Risk: High (exfiltrated PII, dark web exposure risk)
Payment Information Risk: High (bank and payroll details compromised)
Commonly Compromised Data Types: The types of data most commonly compromised in incidents are Personal Details, Payroll Data, National Insurance Numbers, Bank Details, Salary Information, Contact Details, Supplier Data, Client Data, , Personally Identifiable Information (Pii), Financial Data and .

Entity Name: Merkle, Inc.
Entity Type: Subsidiary
Industry: Marketing and Customer Experience Management (CXM)
Location: United States
Size: 16,000+ employees globally

Entity Name: Dentsu Group
Entity Type: Parent Company
Industry: Advertising and Public Relations
Location: Japan (global operations)
Size: 67,667 employees (as of December 31, 2024)

Entity Name: Dentsu Group (Merkle unit)
Entity Type: Advertising and Marketing Agency
Industry: Media & Communications
Location: UK (global operations)
Customers Affected: Current and former employees (some left >10 years ago)

Entity Name: Dentsu India
Entity Type: Subsidiary
Industry: Media & Communications
Location: India

Entity Name: Suumaya Group
Entity Type: Agro-trading and Welfare Programme Contractor
Industry: Agriculture/Government Contracts
Location: India (Haryana, Delhi)

Incident Response Plan Activated: Yes (systems shut down, measures taken to minimize impact)
Third Party Assistance: Yes (external cybersecurity firm involved)
Law Enforcement Notified: Yes (relevant authorities in impacted countries notified)
Containment Measures: Systems taken offline to mitigate attack
Recovery Measures: Systems restored after mitigation
Communication Strategy: Public disclosure, notification to affected individuals, offer of free dark web monitoring

Incident Response Plan Activated: Yes (cybersecurity firm engaged)
Third Party Assistance: Yes (external cybersecurity firm)
Law Enforcement Notified: Yes (UK and India)
Remediation Measures: Credit monitoringDark web monitoring for affected individuals
Communication Strategy: Initial notification to staff (Oct 2025)Limited follow-up per employee reports
Incident Response Plan: The company's incident response plan is described as Yes (systems shut down, measures taken to minimize impact), Yes (cybersecurity firm engaged).
Third-Party Assistance: The company involves third-party assistance in incident response through Yes (external cybersecurity firm involved), Yes (external cybersecurity firm).

Type of Data Compromised: Personal details, Payroll data, National insurance numbers, Bank details, Salary information, Contact details, Supplier data, Client data
Sensitivity of Data: High (includes financial and personally identifiable information)
Data Exfiltration: Yes (files taken from Merkle’s network)
Personally Identifiable Information: Yes (names, contact details, National Insurance numbers, bank/payroll details)

Type of Data Compromised: Personally identifiable information (pii), Financial data
Sensitivity of Data: High (bank details, National Insurance numbers)
Data Exfiltration: Confirmed ('certain files' stolen)
Personally Identifiable Information: NamesContact detailsNational Insurance numbersSalariesBank detailsPayroll details
Prevention of Data Exfiltration: The company takes the following measures to prevent data exfiltration: Credit monitoring, Dark web monitoring for affected individuals, .
Handling of PII Incidents: The company handles incidents involving personally identifiable information (PII) through by systems taken offline to mitigate attack.

Data Exfiltration: Yes (files stolen, but no ransomware claim reported)

Data Exfiltration: Yes
Data Recovery from Ransomware: The company recovers data encrypted by ransomware through Systems restored after mitigation.

Regulatory Notifications: Relevant authorities in impacted countries notified

Regulations Violated: UK GDPR (potential), India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),
Legal Actions: UK ICO review (ongoing), ED investigation (ongoing), Employee group litigation (potential),
Regulatory Notifications: UK ICO complaint filedED searches conducted (Dentsu India offices)
Ensuring Regulatory Compliance: The company ensures compliance with regulatory requirements through UK ICO review (ongoing), ED investigation (ongoing), Employee group litigation (potential), .

Source: SecurityAffairs
URL: https://securityaffairs.com
Date Accessed: 2025-10-30

Source: Financial Times / Media Report
Date Accessed: 2025-11-26

Source: Enforcement Directorate (ED) Press Release
Date Accessed: 2025-11-26
Additional Resources: Stakeholders can find additional resources on cybersecurity best practices at and Source: SecurityAffairsUrl: https://securityaffairs.comDate Accessed: 2025-10-30, and Source: Financial Times / Media ReportDate Accessed: 2025-11-26, and Source: Enforcement Directorate (ED) Press ReleaseDate Accessed: 2025-11-26.

Investigation Status: Ongoing (external cybersecurity firm involved)

Investigation Status: ['Ongoing (UK ICO)', 'Ongoing (ED India)', 'Employee-led legal preparations']
Communication of Investigation Status: The company communicates the status of incident investigations to stakeholders through Public disclosure, notification to affected individuals, offer of free dark web monitoring, Initial Notification To Staff (Oct 2025) and Limited Follow-Up Per Employee Reports.

Stakeholder Advisories: Affected individuals notified; free dark web monitoring offered

Customer Advisories: Credit monitoring offered to affected employees
Advisories Provided: The company provides the following advisories to stakeholders and customers following an incident: were Affected individuals notified; free dark web monitoring offered, Credit Monitoring Offered To Affected Employees and .

High Value Targets: Employee Pii, Client Data,
Data Sold on Dark Web: Employee Pii, Client Data,
Most Recent Incident Detected: The most recent incident detected was on 2025-10-30.
Most Recent Incident Publicly Disclosed: The most recent incident publicly disclosed was on 2025-10-01.
Most Significant Data Compromised: The most significant data compromised in an incident were Supplier data, Client data, Employee data (personal details, payroll, National Insurance numbers, bank details, salary, contact details), , Bank details, Payroll details, Salaries, National Insurance numbers, Contact information and .
Most Significant System Affected: The most significant system affected in an incident was Merkle’s network.
Containment Measures in Most Recent Incident: The containment measures taken in the most recent incident was Systems taken offline to mitigate attack.
Most Sensitive Data Compromised: The most sensitive data compromised in a breach were Payroll details, Bank details, Client data, Supplier data, Contact information, Salaries, Employee data (personal details, payroll, National Insurance numbers, bank details, salary, contact details) and National Insurance numbers.
Most Significant Legal Action: The most significant legal action taken for a regulatory violation was UK ICO review (ongoing), ED investigation (ongoing), Employee group litigation (potential), .
Most Recent Source: The most recent source of information about an incident are Financial Times / Media Report, SecurityAffairs and Enforcement Directorate (ED) Press Release.
Most Recent URL for Additional Resources: The most recent URL for additional resources on cybersecurity best practices is https://securityaffairs.com .
Current Status of Most Recent Investigation: The current status of the most recent investigation is Ongoing (external cybersecurity firm involved).
Most Recent Stakeholder Advisory: The most recent stakeholder advisory issued was Affected individuals notified; free dark web monitoring offered, .
Most Recent Customer Advisory: The most recent customer advisory issued was an Credit monitoring offered to affected employees.
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