South Korean e-commerce company Coupang Inc yesterday announced it would offer more than NT$200 million (US$6.39 million) in total compensation to Taiwanese customers after a data breach in November last year that could have impacted up to 200,000 customers in Taiwan.
From March 8, customers could receive an NT$1,000 company gift voucher, it said.
Customers could check their eligibility via the Coupang app, a designated Web site or by calling customer service, it added.
Photo: Bloomberg
The company operated a similar compensation scheme in South Korea, offering vouchers worth 50,000 won (US$34.91) each to the holders of 33.7 million accounts, Reuters reported.
The major breach occurred after a former employee at Coupang obtained customers’ personal information from the company system.
There was no initial evidence that the leak impacted Taiwanese customers, although an investigation is ongoing, Coupang said.
Cybersecurity firm Mandiant said it found in a separate investigation that the former employee had access to personal data from 200,000 Taiwanese customers, including full names, e-mails, phone numbers and delivery addresses.
They could not access sensitive information such as credit card information, passwords or national ID numbers, it said.
Only one Taiwanese customer had their data stored, with the remaining data belonging to South Korean users, Coupang said.
Coupang said it has recovered all devices used by the former employee and initiated a full forensic analysis.
There is no evidence that the data were sold to a third party or misused, and the system has since been updated to ensure no further leaks, it added.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit