Coupang breach affecting 33.7 million users raises data protection questions

South Korea’s e-commerce giant Coupang just fumbled a massive data breach, exposing the personal info of 33.7 million users—including names, phone numbers, emails, addresses, and shopping histories—thanks to a former employee who hung onto access keys for five sneaky months. This isn’t just embarrassing; it’s a wake-up call, potentially slapping Coupang with fines up to $900 million for not catching the insider threat sooner, and highlighting how even “non-sensitive” data can be weaponized for phishing or worse when pieced together. Sure, Korean law doesn’t mandate encrypting stuff like addresses or purchase logs, but that’s no excuse—mixing that info with other leaks could turn it into a goldmine for cybercriminals. For SMBs and MSPs juggling customer data, this mess underscores the need to go beyond legal bare minimums by deploying robust encryption solutions, like those offering centralized key management, to slash breach risks without bogging down your systems; don’t wait for a regulator’s smackdown to lock things down tight.

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/coupang-breach-affecting-337-million-users-raises-data-protection-questions/