Data of hundreds of thousands of frequent flyers stolen: privacy at risk?
The data of hundreds of thousands of frequent flyers were stolen, during an attack on SITA. The [...]
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Oneworld
I data of hundreds of thousands of frequent flyers were stolen, during an attack on the SITA.
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The company, which provides support technologies to airlines, publicized the attack by contacting the most affected carriers. And numerous are the frequent flyer who received notices in their e-mails about what happened.
Data of hundreds of thousands of frequent flyers in the crosshairs of hackers
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Hackers managed to gain access to some of the computer systems of the SITA Passenger Service System in Atlanta in late January, but it was not until February 24 that the fact was made known. The data of hundreds of thousands of frequent flyers were thus hacked, but an exact number is impossible to know. SITA works with the 90% of the world's airlines, including all the largest and most widely used alliances.
Singapore Airlines, for example, let it be known that the data of 580 thousand users were stolen. What information was hacked? The status and number of frequent flyers, and in some cases the name. No problems-according to the company-for e-mail, passport number, contacts, or even credit cards. We are talking, however, about a huge amount of data. Malaysia Airlines reported, however, that the incident involved some personal data of members of Enrich, the company's frequent flyer program, dating back to the period between March 2010 and June 2019. "The stolen personal data," the carrier specified, "include. Enrich members' names, date of birth, gender, contact information, number, and frequent flyer status. No information on itineraries, reservations, tickets, ID cards or payment cards was compromised."
The alliances involved
As a result of the attack, the data of hundreds of thousands of frequent flyers from the largest alliances were thus stolen.
Malaysia Airlines, Finnair, Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, United Airlines, American Airlines: there are so many companies involved. Major alliances, Star Alliance e OneWorld, they had their data taken away. However, the carriers were keen to stress that no sensitive data was hacked. Fortunately for frequent flyers, the hackers were unable to obtain the most sensitive information, such as passwords and credit card data. The breach mainly involved numbers and statuses.
"We recognize that the pandemic has raised concerns about security threats and, at the same time, cybercriminals have become more sophisticated and active," said a SITA spokesperson. Stating how investigations are continuing, to trace back to the hackers and learn in detail all the data that was stolen. According to the release, however, no frequent flyer should fear: his or her most important data remains safe.