Gmarket apologizes for personal data breach ... compensates all affected customers

[Financial News] Gmarket has completed compensation for customers affected by a recent personal data breach.
According to industry sources on the 2nd, Gmarket sent apology letters and notices to customers affected by the personal data breach the previous day and also posted an apology on its website.
The incident is believed to have resulted from unauthorized access exploiting a vulnerability in an external service’s application programming interface (API). The leaked information included customers’ names and user IDs, e-coupon PINs, phone numbers, email addresses, and mailing addresses. However, login passwords were confirmed not to have been leaked. The company did not disclose the number of affected customers.
Gmarket had earlier found signs that e-coupon PINs belonging to some customers were registered and used without authorization by a third party on the 28th and 29th of last month. As soon as it became aware of this, Gmarket blocked the external unauthorized access routes and reported the matter to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA).
The previous day, Gmarket completed the compensation process for all affected customers. Customers who suffered financial losses from the unauthorized use of e-coupons were compensated based on the face value of the relevant gift certificates. Customers who did not suffer losses from unauthorized e-coupon use were also given 10,000 won in Smile Cash.
Security measures to prevent further damage are also underway. Gmarket implemented emergency security measures after the incident and is replacing e-coupon PINs in stages for all customers who hold gift certificates.
[email protected] Jang Yu-ha Reporter