Pick n Pay Online Customers Left Vulnerable, Personal Details Exposed

• Pick n Pay online customers' sensitive information was recently exposed, leaving people vulnerable
• The information that was exposed included people's names, residential addresses as well as photographs
• A similar breach was experienced by Standard Bank in early December and information such as identification numbers wasere exposed

JOHANNESBURG - Pick n Pay customers who make use of their online shopping services have been severely compromised. Vital information that was handed over to Pick n Pay to make purchases was unfortunately exposed.

Customers' names, homes addresses and even photographs that were taken by the delivery people as proof of receipt were exposed and could be accessed by anyone.

According to MyBroadband, the data breach stems from Dawn Wing, a courier company used by the supermarket retailer to deliver goods to customers. The data was exposed because the companies used sequential order numbers in the URL to allow consumers to monitor their delivery.

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This information was also easily accessible because no login system was in place. Savvy internet users could easily access this information by using the order tracking number.

A person just needed to know the format of the tracking URL and either subtract or and one number to gain someone else's vital information.

The data breach also leaked the information of the delivery drivers, exposing their photographs, car registration numbers as well as where they had been. The issue appears to have been resolved, however, Pick n Pay and Dawn Wing have not publicly addressed the issues.

Standard Bank experiences a data breach

Such data breaches are not rare and a similar breach was exposed by Standard Bank. The bank stated that customers had sensitive information such as physical addresses, identity numbers, marital status was exposed.

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Luckily, banking details were not part of the breach, according to MoneyWeb. Customers were affected by this breach because of LookSee, a Standard Bank home service that gives information about property valuations and trends.

10 Million South Africans bank with Standard Bank

Briefly News previously reported that Standard Bank has announced that they now have 10 million customers in South Africa due to significant growth in 2021.

The bank is considered one of the top 5 financial institutions in South Africa and will celebrate its 160th anniversary next year. Capitec, which have only been around for 20 years, reached 10 million customers in 2018 already.

According to News24, other South African banks have over 10 million customers, but that figure includes international customers, particularly those from other African countries.

Source: Briefly News