Grab fined in Singapore for email data breach
Ride hailing service Grab has vowed to beef up its data security protocols after being hit with a fine in Singapore this week.
It was fined $16,000 for leaking some personal customer information in GrabCar email marketing campaigns.
More than 120,000 emails were sent to customers but inexplicably included the names and mobile numbers of other unrelated customers.
The error occurred in December 2017.
Grab said it happened due to errors in collating customer information from different databases, and it reported the incident to Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission straight away.
"Grab is committed to comply with the Personal Data Protection Act and apologise for any anxiety caused," it said.
It has since started masking phone numbers in all email marketing campaigns and beefed up data validation and checks.
Separately, the commission also reprimanded Grab after two of its drivers ignored the company’s code of conduct and used customer data for other purposes outside of their work for Grab.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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