There are growing suggestions that the large-scale leak of customer information at Coupang may have been an inside job, not an external hack. The person, reportedly a former employee of Coupang with Chinese nationality, is said to have already left the country.
According to the industry on the 30th, Coupang recently filed a complaint with police over the data leak. The complaint reportedly lists the suspect who leaked the information as "name unknown (unknown)."
Coupang said that in a follow-up investigation that day, personal information from 33.7 million customer accounts was leaked. That is about 7,500 times more than the 4,500 accounts it said were compromised on the 18th, suggesting that virtually all Coupang users' information appears to have been exposed.
Some raised suspicions that a key figure in the leak was a former Coupang employee with Chinese nationality. Coupang has said since the incident that it was not caused by hacking or other external intrusion.
However, with the person a foreign national and having left Coupang and already departed Korea, concerns are being raised that the investigation may face difficulties. A Coupang official said, "It is hard to confirm as authorities are currently investigating."