JPDP investigates number of ShopBack MY users impacted in recent breach

Malaysia's Department of Personal Data Protection (JPDP) is seeking feedback from ShopBack Cashback on the number of Malaysians impacted in the recent personal data breach which occurred on 17 September. JPDP also said it is working closely with all stakeholders to assess the severity of the incident in line with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (Act 709).

This comes after JPDP said ShopBack discovered an incident concerning unauthorised access to its systems involving consumers' personal information on 17 September, such as names, contact information, gender, date of birth and bank account numbers. Thereafter, JPDP was informed of the situation by a ShopBack representative on 25 September. 

"The notification said that ShopBack will start the process of contacting its customers via email and set up a website containing questions and answers to offer clarification, along with further steps and measure to be taken after the discovery of the data breach," JPDP said in a statement, adding that it viewed it as a serious matter. It also said that it has also been informed of ShopBack's mitigation measures to deal with the incident, and was assured by the latter that the measures will be able to fully contain the data breach.

Last Friday, ShopBack said in an email to consumers that has been compromised. However, it has no reason to believe that any of its consumers' personal data has been misused, even though the possibility still exists. It assured consumers that their cashback is safe, and that their account password is protected by encryption.

Apart from your email addresses (or alternative login IDs) and limited transactional information, ShopBack does not require you to provide information to us that is not related to our specific services or campaigns," the company added. The types of data that consumers may have provided include their name, contact information, gender, date of birth, and bank account numbers for those who cash out to their bank accounts. 

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