Lotte Card apologizes for data breach affecting nearly 3 mil. customers

Lotte Card said Thursday that a recent cyberattack led to the leak of personal information belonging to 2.97 million customers, nearly one-third of its total customer base, and pledged full compensation for any losses resulting from the breach. "We sincerely apologize for the concern caused to our customers and relevant institutions," Lotte Card CEO Cho Jwa-jin said during a press conference Thursday. "Lotte Card will take full responsibility for the damage caused by this incident and fully compensate the affected amounts." The compromised data, totaling 200 gigabytes, included information generated and collected during online payment processes, such as connection details, resident registration numbers, virtual payment codes and internal identification numbers. Of the affected customers, approximately 280,000 had particularly sensitive data exposed, including card numbers, expiration dates and security codes, raising concerns over the potential risk of fraudulent use. "There is a possibility of fraudulent use in cases where card data is manually entered into terminals, but as of now, no