The Hong Kong Consumer Council on Friday (Sept. 22) confirmed that it has been the victim of a hacking attack, where a US$500,000 ransom was demanded, saying that it will not pay the ransom.
Approximately 80 percent of the system was compromised, involving employee and customer data, as well as various internal records. This is the second such attack in recent weeks following a similar hack at Cyberport.
At a Friday press conference, Clement Chan Kam-wing, chairman of the Consumer Council, said that the stolen data is believed to encompass employee records, including current and former staff, as well as family members and applicants for vacant positions.
Chan said approximately 8,000 subscribers to the Consumer Council's monthly magazine have been affected, with credit card information potentially compromised. Additionally, data pertaining to complainants and partner companies, including contact details such as addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, may have also been exposed.
The council also acknowledged that it is quite difficult to trace the leaked data for the time being, and it may only be known which data has been leaked when the attacker disclose it online.
The council was faced with a demand to pay a ransom of US$500,000 before 11:20 pm on Saturday. If the payment is delayed, the ransom will increase to US$700,000, the hackers said. The council emphasized that they will not pay the ransom and apologized for any inconvenience caused to the public .
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