Coupang, often described as “The Amazon of Korea”, experienced a major data breach that exposed 33.7 million customer accounts, which is over half of Korea's population. This has turned into a huge investigation, and questions are being asked of governing bodies about what will be done to stop this from happening again. Also, find out what you can do to make sure this doesn’t happen to your business.

 

How Did This Even Happen?

The breach was first noticed in November and was initially believed to have affected only 4,500 accounts. It was later revealed that the attack had actually been ongoing since June through an overseas server. The leaked data did not include credit card information or login details. However, it did reveal phone numbers, addresses, names, and some order information. Due to the scale of the incident, it has been labelled the largest data breach in Korea’s history. The attack was allegedly carried out by a former employee who exploited an authentication vulnerability.

 

Regulators have warned that, although highly sensitive data was not exposed, the stolen emails and phone numbers could still be used for phishing, scams, and identity theft, with attackers impersonating Coupang.

 

As a result, the Personal Information Protection Commission launched an investigation on November 30th. Under Korea’s strict data protection laws, Coupang could face a fine of up to 1 trillion won or £514 million. If enforced, this would be the largest fine ever issued in the country. The current record is held by SK Telecom with a 134 billion won or £69 million penalty.

 

What Can Be Learned From This?

 

The scale of this cyberattack highlights the importance of securing your business, regardless of its size. One of the main concerns raised by this incident is the need for continuous monitoring. Dormant or low-level attacks can go unnoticed and gradually evolve into much more serious threats. Cyberattacks today are more frequent and more sophisticated, which makes strong cybersecurity practices essential.

 

How Can You Strengthen Your Business Security?

 

One key lesson from this breach is that cyberattacks can go on for long periods without detection. The best defence is company-wide preparedness. Many attacks begin with social engineering or phishing attempts, which rely on human error to bypass the first layer of security. Regular training and staff education at all levels can significantly reduce this risk.

 

Multi-layered security is also crucial. It helps slow down attackers and gives your team more time to respond, while providing backup protection if someone makes a mistake. In addition, offline and off-site backups are vital when recovering from an attack. Because they are separate from your main network, they remain unaffected and allow you to restore your systems to their pre-attack state.

 

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