The South China Athletic Association (SCAA) is investigating a leak of members’ personal data, it said on Monday, as the privacy watchdog’ office warned that around 70,000 data subjects had been affected.
The non-profit sports organisation said that names, birthdays, HKID numbers and correspondence addresses had been breached. “We deeply regret this incident and have taken immediate measures by shutting down the affected computer equipment to maximize the protection of our members’ personal data,” the SCAA wrote on Facebook.
The group apologised and said it would fully cooperate with law enforcement, adding that there was no evidence to suggest that the information had been leaked into the public domain.
“We will spare no effort to strengthen our cybersecurity to ensure our members’ personal data [is] safely protected and restore their trust in us,” the group said.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) said it received notification of the breach on Monday, though it is unclear when the hack occurred. HKFP has contacted the SCAA for comment.
Spate of data breaches
The privacy watchdog said it received more than 150 data breach notifications last year, marking a nearly 50 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
A total of 157 cases of hacking, loss of documents, inadvertent disclosure of personal data, and other types of data breach were reported by the public and private sector in 2023, the PCPD said in a January report.
Last September, Cyberport reported that sensitive data such as staff details and credit card records had been disclosed following a “malicious” hack in mid-August.
In the same month, the Consumer Council fell victim to hackers who launched a cyberattack that damaged about 80 per cent of the watchdog’s computer systems.
Education firm Sphero and Hongkong Post saw data breaches in October, whilst second-hand online market Carousel suffered a breach in December.
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