Alibaba's Lazada Suffers Data Breach Involving 1.1M Users

Singapore-based Lazada Group, an e-commerce company owned by Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd BABA, disclosed that 1.1 million users were affected in a data breach. According to CNBC, all affected users were part of the RedMart database — the company's online grocery platform in Singapore.

The data breach reportedly occurred on a third-party server, used exclusively to store RedMart's user information. None of Lazada’s users are said to be affected.

What Happened: The breach on Thursday exposed email addresses, telephone numbers, encrypted passwords, and partial credit card numbers, according to Channel News Asia, which first reported the news.

Lazada confirmed to CNBC that personal data was stolen but claimed the information affected was "more than 18 months out of date." RedMart platform was decommissioned in March 2019.

The Alibaba-owned company said access to the stolen database has been blocked. Reportedly, affected users were signed out of their accounts, and were asked to reset passwords.

Singapore’s regulatory watchdog, the Personal Data Protection Commission is investigating the incident and local police have been notified.

Why Does It Matter: Early this month, ZDNet cited research by cybersecurity company Carbon Black, which claimed that 96% of businesses in Singapore have faced data breaches. About 98% of the businesses were concerned about cybersecurity due to 5G deployments and digital transformation initiatives. The survey roped in 250 participants, top brass from businesses in Singapore across different sectors.

Despite claims that the company does not store credit card numbers and CVV details, Lazada told users to track any “unusual activity or suspicious transactions on your credit cards,” ZDNet noted earlier.

Alibaba gained a controlling interest in Lazada in April 2016 for $1 billion. Six months later, in November, Lazada purchased RedMart for an undisclosed amount estimated between $30 million to $40 million.

Price Action: BABA stock dropped 2.52% on Friday to close at $304.69 per share.