Airline EasyJet Hacked, Details of 9M Customers Stolen
Most airlines may have a fleet of grounded aircraft right now, but their systems remain online and one budget carrier has just admitted to being hacked, exposing the details of roughly nine million customers.
As Reuters reports, the British budget airline EasyJet, which has been operating for the last 25 years, has suffered what it calls a “highly sophisticated” attack on its systems and millions of customers are affected. The full details are yet to appear, including when the hack took place, but the email and travel details of millions of customers were accessed. Over 2,000 customers have had their credit card details stolen, too.
For now, EasyJet is working with “leading forensic experts” to determine the full extent of the hack and how it was made possible. In a statement, the company said, “We take issues of security extremely seriously and continue to invest to further enhance our security environment.”
EasyJet CEO Johan Lungdren also commented, stating, “Since we became aware of the incident, it has become clear that owing to COVID-19 there is heightened concern about personal data being used for online scams … As a result, and on the recommendation of the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office), we are contacting those customers whose travel information was accessed and we are advising them to be extra vigilant, particularly if they receive unsolicited communications.”
As Lungdren confirmed, usually once these hacks are announced publicly it doesn’t take the company long to start contacting customers it knows have had their privacy compromised. Top of that list will be the more than 2,000 customers who have had their credit card details taken.
