Everything About the Sephora Data Breach S’poreans Should Know About

If you’re a Sephora customer, you probably see Sephora as this makeup paradise where a colourful array of different beauty products patiently await your purchase.

However, a recent email sent out by the popular makeup retailer might make you rethink your future purchases.

Data breach  

On 29 July, Sephora sent an email to its online customers informing them of a data breach that the company discovered over the past two weeks.

This breach affects customers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand.

In the email, Sephora’s SEA managing director Alia Gogi said: “Some personal information may have been exposed to unauthorized third parties, including first and last name, date of birth, gender, email address, and encrypted password, as well as data related to beauty preferences.”

At this point, you’re probably wondering if that pineapple nose mask was worth it.

However, Gogi assured customers that no one had accessed their credit card information. She added that the company had “no reason to believe that any personal data has been misused”.

It’s not known how many online customers were affected by the breach.

Cause Unknown

So what happened? Where did things go wrong?

Well, according to the spokesperson for Sephora, there was no major vulnerabilities on their websites and they didn’t find traces of any cyber attacks as well.

They added that none of Sephora’s physical stores was affected and their mobile app and website is still safe for customers to use.

“The security incident was limited to a database serving our Southeast Asia, Hong Kong SAR and Australia/New Zealand customers who used our online services.”

Company’s response

Sephora has since apologised and taken measures to deal with the data breach.

They have cancelled all existing passwords for customer accounts and conducted a review of its security systems.

They’re also offering a free personal data monitoring service from a “leading third-party provider” to customers. Interested customers can sign up for the service using a link provided by Sephora.

The French company has also encouraged all customers to change their passwords and consider registering for their personal data monitoring service.

So, the next time you’re scrolling through your Sephora app, ask yourself, is it worth buying the Brazillian Bum Bum Cream (yes, it’s a real thing) if it comes at the expense of your personal information?

I’d like to think your answer would be no, but I’m a realist.