TAIPEI (TVBS News) — On Wednesday (Nov. 29), Taiwan's Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang stated that the issue of a cyber security breach at LY Corporation, is currently undergoing a time-limited administrative investigation process at the National Development Council (NDC).
The parent company of the popular messaging app LINE, has potentially leaked the personal data of about 440,000 users, including information from 100 Taiwanese accounts.
The incident, which comes in the wake of an October hack on South Korean IT giant Naver, a major shareholder in LY Corporation, has spurred the ongoing investigation in Taiwan.
The data leaked primarily includes the names of LY Corporation's employees and business partners, their affiliated institutions, and email addresses, along with potentially leaked ages, genders, and purchase histories for stickers. However, there was no leakage of users' messages, bank account numbers, or credit card information.
Taiwan's Digital Ministry has requested the relevant entities to furnish information and to report this breach in accordance with the law. The affected user data entails hashed mobile phone numbers, email addresses, and LINE account details. Whether sanctions will be imposed under Taiwan's new Personal Data Protection Act depends on the outcome of the NDC's investigation.
Tang reassured the public that messages sent between LINE users are end-to-end encrypted and the server does not store the content of the messages, indicating that no such message content was compromised in this breach.
The minister underscored the critical importance of having servers located in Taiwan for apps like LINE, particularly for maintaining communications during disasters.
Tang disclosed that discussions are in progress with various international messaging providers, including LINE and the Signal Foundation, regarding the potential establishment of servers in Taiwan.