Data breaches

Growing number of personal data leaks

Personal data of individuals was leaked from the vulnerable seams of a growing number of private and public organisations, with 2017 billed as the year of breaches.

Recently, locally-based bicycle-sharing operator oBike made headlines for the leak of unencrypted names and ride locations of users in 14 countries, including Singapore, through a flaw in its app.

Last month, it emerged that ride-hailing giant Uber covered up a breach last year that exposed personal data of 57 million passengers and drivers worldwide, including 380,000 here. It also came to light last month that NRIC numbers of hundreds of students at Xinmin Secondary were leaked. It was the second case involving a Ministry of Education school after a 2015 breach at Henry Park Primary.

Irene Tham

ST ILLUSTRATION: MIEL

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 25, 2017, with the headline Growing number of personal data leaks. Subscribe