Human error suspected in Cyberport data leak

A Cyberport Board Director said on Wednesday that human error was suspected in a recent data leak, with the investigation set to look into whether the 400 gigabytes of data that contains sensitive information was stored on a shared drive in their system.

The personal data of staff from Cyberport and some startup companies - including HKID card numbers, bank statements and resumes - were released on the dark web after the digital technology flagship's servers were hacked last month.

The data was released recently after international hackers demanded a ransom of US$300,000 - approximately HK$2.35 million - for the leaked 400 gigabytes of information. The hacker organization, Trigona, also put up the data for bidding online.

Apart from the personal data of staff, the hacked files also included lease agreements, receipts, audit reports, and a large number of documents involving HSBC, CLP Power, and the government.

Board Director of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited, Eric Yeung Chuen-sing, said today that the leaked data was stored in a shared drive, in which the data was not supposed to carry sensitive information.

He said a review of the internal work process is imminent and the management of Cyberport will have to submit a report to the Board of Directors on the incident.

Yeung added that paying the ransom was never an option for Cyberport, and he admitted that the incident would definitely affect the company’s image.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong strongly condemned individuals committing the cybercrime, while he also called on Cyberport to contact and offer support to the victims involved in the incident.

He said more information about the data leak should be made available to the public when necessary, and that he had instructed Cyberport to step up their internet security to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
 

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