The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong (PCPD) noted the media reports on the unauthorised access to the email system of Nikkei China (Hong Kong) Limited in October 2020, which might involve the leakage of the personal data of over 1,600 customers. In response to media enquiries, the PCPD confirmed that it received a data breach notification from the company concerned on 17 March. Given that the personal data at stake include names, email addresses, addresses, company names, telephone numbers and credit card information, etc., the PCPD would immediately conduct a compliance check to find out the relevant facts from the company, including whether any Hong Kong customers are affected and the number involved.
The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong (Privacy Commissioner), Ms Ada CHUNG Lai-ling, pointed out that organisations must take effective security measures to protect the personal data of their customers. The Privacy Commissioner appeals to organisations to notify the PCPD and the affected customers as soon as possible of any data breach incident to minimise the potential damage which might be caused to its customers.