South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang has disclosed a significant data breach that compromised the personal information of nearly 34 million customers in the country. The breach, which lasted over five months, exposed details such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, shipping addresses, and some order histories. Fortunately, sensitive data like payment information and login credentials remained unaffected and secure, according to Coupang.
The company initially identified unauthorized access to 4,500 accounts in November, but further investigation revealed a much larger impact on 33.7 million customer accounts. Coupang has promptly reported the breach to relevant authorities, including the Korea Internet Security Agency and the National Police Agency.
While the breach originated from overseas servers, Coupang has taken steps to enhance internal monitoring and engage external security experts to address the incident. Notably, no evidence suggests that customer data from Coupang Taiwan or Rocket Now services was compromised in the breach.
This incident underscores the critical importance of robust cybersecurity measures for e-commerce platforms, especially in safeguarding customer privacy and data. Coupang’s swift response and cooperation with authorities highlight the necessity for continuous vigilance and proactive security practices in the digital age.
Source: TechCrunch