A data breach of the customers of the Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific has come to light. According to revelations by the airlines, personal data of up to 9.4 million passengers have been hacked. However the airline so far could not confirm any evidence of stealing of any personal information of the passengers.
The airline listed the type of information of passengers that were hacked - it included passenger names, nationalities, dates of birth, phone numbers, emails, addresses, passport numbers, identity card numbers, frequent flyer programme membership numbers, customer service remarks and historical travel information.
The airline also confirmed that there had been no impact on its flight safety because its flight operations computer systems are separate from the IT systems affected by the hacking.
While data about 403 expired credit cards were accessed by hackers, 27 credit card numbers with no CVV were also accessed in the heist.
The airline claimed that no passwords were compromised and travel or loyalty profile of none of the travellers was accessed.
The Hong Kong Police and the relevant authorities have been notified by Cathay Pacific
The airline had first got hint of the suspicious activity on its network in March this year.
“Upon discovery, we took immediate action to contain the event, to commence a thorough investigation with the assistance of a leading cybersecurity firm, and to further strengthen our IT security measures” said Cathay.
“Unauthorised access to certain personal data was confirmed in early May. Since that time, analysis of the data has continued in order to identify affected individuals and to determine whether the data at issue could be reconstructed.”
Passengers are no w being contacted by Cathay to apprise them what to do to protect themselves. Those customers who believe that they have been affected can also directly get in touch with the airlines.
A statement from Cathay advised its passengers to change passwords on a regular basis, keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and remain cautious about phishing or other possible scams.
Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg said: “We are very sorry for any concern this data security event may cause our passengers. We want to reassure our passengers that we took and continue to take measures to enhance our IT security. The safety and security of our passengers remains our top priority.”
There was a 6 per cent drop in the share prices of Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong after news of the breach came out in the public.
About a month ago, a data breach on its data base was announced by British Airways which reportedly affected 380000 customers. However no travel or passport details was included in the stolen data which was only revealed to the airlines after two weeks of it taking place.
“The attack stole highly sensitive personally-identifiable information including names, passport numbers, dates of birth, email and physical addresses, which makes it a potential goldmine for hackers,” said Aatish Pattni, regional director for UK & Ireland for web security specialist Link11 said in relation to the data breach in Cathay Pacific.
(Source:www.express.co.uk)
The airline listed the type of information of passengers that were hacked - it included passenger names, nationalities, dates of birth, phone numbers, emails, addresses, passport numbers, identity card numbers, frequent flyer programme membership numbers, customer service remarks and historical travel information.
The airline also confirmed that there had been no impact on its flight safety because its flight operations computer systems are separate from the IT systems affected by the hacking.
While data about 403 expired credit cards were accessed by hackers, 27 credit card numbers with no CVV were also accessed in the heist.
The airline claimed that no passwords were compromised and travel or loyalty profile of none of the travellers was accessed.
The Hong Kong Police and the relevant authorities have been notified by Cathay Pacific
The airline had first got hint of the suspicious activity on its network in March this year.
“Upon discovery, we took immediate action to contain the event, to commence a thorough investigation with the assistance of a leading cybersecurity firm, and to further strengthen our IT security measures” said Cathay.
“Unauthorised access to certain personal data was confirmed in early May. Since that time, analysis of the data has continued in order to identify affected individuals and to determine whether the data at issue could be reconstructed.”
Passengers are no w being contacted by Cathay to apprise them what to do to protect themselves. Those customers who believe that they have been affected can also directly get in touch with the airlines.
A statement from Cathay advised its passengers to change passwords on a regular basis, keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and remain cautious about phishing or other possible scams.
Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg said: “We are very sorry for any concern this data security event may cause our passengers. We want to reassure our passengers that we took and continue to take measures to enhance our IT security. The safety and security of our passengers remains our top priority.”
There was a 6 per cent drop in the share prices of Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong after news of the breach came out in the public.
About a month ago, a data breach on its data base was announced by British Airways which reportedly affected 380000 customers. However no travel or passport details was included in the stolen data which was only revealed to the airlines after two weeks of it taking place.
“The attack stole highly sensitive personally-identifiable information including names, passport numbers, dates of birth, email and physical addresses, which makes it a potential goldmine for hackers,” said Aatish Pattni, regional director for UK & Ireland for web security specialist Link11 said in relation to the data breach in Cathay Pacific.
(Source:www.express.co.uk)