Hong Kong probes Louis Vuitton data leak after UK, Korea attacks

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog is investigating a data leak affecting about 419,000 customers of Louis Vuitton, as the luxury giant suffers from a string of cyberattacks across its key markets in recent months.

Leaked data of the Hong Kong customers include names, passport numbers, birth dates, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, shopping history and product preferences, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said in an emailed statement on Monday (Jul 21).

The office is looking into the case, including whether there was any delay in notifying authorities involved, according to the statement. It added that it has not received any complaints or queries regarding the leak.

The data breach in Hong Kong followed similar incidents in the UK and South Korea earlier this month, where hackers stole customer data from Louis Vuitton, the biggest brand of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Christian Dior Couture, another LVMH label, also reported in May that its customer data were compromised in a cyberattack.

Louis Vuitton’s headquarters in France found suspicious activities in its computer system on Jun 13 and discovered on Jul 2 that its Hong Kong customers were affected, said the privacy commissioner’s office, citing Louis Vuitton Hong Kong The Hong Kong branch was informed of the incident on the same day and submitted a report of the data leak on Jul 17, the office said.

Representatives for Louis Vuitton Hong Kong and LVMH did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Local media including Ming Pao cited Louis Vuitton Hong Kong as saying the leaked database does not contain any payment information. BLOOMBERG