Coupang Identifies Employee Responsible for Customer Data Breach
On December 25, Coupang announced that it had identified the former employee responsible for leaking the personal information of 33.7 million customers and had retrieved all devices used in the data breach. Coupang stated, "According to our investigation so far, the perpetrator only stored limited customer information from 3,000 accounts, and subsequently deleted all of it."
Coupang explained, "The stored customer information included 2,609 shared entrance access codes, but did not contain payment information, login credentials, or personal customs clearance numbers," adding, "There has also been no further leakage, such as external transmission."
According to Coupang, the company identified the former employee who leaked the customer information by utilizing forensic evidence, such as digital fingerprints. In this process, Coupang commissioned investigations from global cybersecurity firms Mandiant, Palo Alto Networks, and Ernst & Young.
The perpetrator confessed to the entire customer information leak and described the method used to access the data. The employee used stolen security keys to access the basic customer information of 33 million accounts, saving the customer information (name, email, phone number, address, and some order details) of 3,000 accounts. Among these, 2,609 were shared entrance access codes.
Coupang reported that the perpetrator deleted all stored information after media coverage of the incident. Coupang emphasized, "None of the customer information was transmitted to third parties," and "All devices and hard drives used by the perpetrator to access and extract Coupang customer information have been retrieved and securely secured through verified procedures."
Coupang stated, "We take full responsibility for how much concern the recent personal information breach has caused our customers," and "We sincerely apologize for the worry and inconvenience experienced by so many people as a result of the Coupang data breach incident."
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