Coupang’s Taiwan unit fined $47,200 over data breach

Taiwanese authorities have fined Coupang Inc.’s Taiwan unit and its representative a combined 1.5 million New Taiwan dollars ($47,200) over a data breach that exposed the personal information of more than 200,000 local users.

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs on Monday, authorities fined Coupang’s Taiwan unit and its representative 750,000 Taiwan dollars each on August 17 and ordered corrective measures.

They determined that the company violated Article 27 of Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act, which requires appropriate security measures to prevent the theft or leakage of personal information.

The breach was uncovered during an investigation into a personal data leak at Coupang in South Korea late last year. Taiwanese authorities found that an attacker accessed the personal information of 204,552 local users through more than 2,000 IP addresses.

Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act allows fines of up to 2 million Taiwan dollars for violations involving general security measures, while serious violations can incur fines of up to 15 million Taiwan dollars.