Data Security Issue concerning Hongkong Post account holders

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Hongkong Post said today (October 20) that a data security issue involving Hongkong Post account holders was identified. The incident involved an unauthorised party making countless attempts, through Hongkong Post's electronic service function, to test and try to guess the registered email addresses of Hongkong Post's account holders, and eventually by chance located 7 249 email addresses which were registered with Hongkong Post.

     Hongkong Post confirmed that the incident only involved the email addresses of its account holders but the unauthorised party could not get hold of the account holders' personal information such as the account login name and password, and the account transactions with the Department. Hongkong Post did not find any indication that there was any leakage of or tampering with the account holders' personal information or any suspicious activities of the accounts concerned.

     Upon identification of the incident on October 18, Hongkong Post had immediately on the same day written to inform all affected account holders of the incident and advised them to be alert to any suspicious emails or unsolicited communications. Hongkong Post had taken immediate measures to further tighten up the system security. It had also reported the case to the Police and sought advice from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) on October 18 and made a report to PCPD today. According to the established government procedures, Hongkong Post had reported the case to the Government Information Security Incident Response Office, and are seeking advice from the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer to further enhance the security measures. Hongkong Post will continue to closely monitor the situation.

     Hongkong Post wishes to alert members of the public to refrain from clicking on any embedded links or providing any personal or financial information such as credit card information, or making any payment to suspicious emails or SMS messages alleged to be sent by Hongkong Post. Hongkong Post reiterates that it will not send embedded hyperlinks via emails, SMS messages or social media pages for collecting personal information or requesting for payment. For enquiries, members of the public may call the Hongkong Post General Enquiry Hotline at 2921 2222.

Ends/Friday, October 20, 2023
Issued at HKT 21:40

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