With data protection and data security the major talking points in many business circles over the last 6 months or so, it comes as no surprise that British Airways (BA) was the latest firm to confirm that they have experienced a major data breach. This latest data breach follows in the footsteps of other major organisations such as T-Mobile US & MetroPCS, Equifax that have experienced significant data breaches within the last year.
British Airways’s recent data breach was confirmed in a statement that said that the data breach was thought to have affected over hundreds of thousands of customers over the course of a two-week period last month.
British Airways confirmed that only those bookings made or changed from its website, ba.com and the airline’s mobile app between 22:58 BST 21 August 2018 until 21:45 BST September 5 2018 have been affected. For those customers involved, there is a strong possibility that they have had their personal and financial details compromised but stated that the data stolen didn’t include any travel or passport details.
British Airways also said in the statement that “The breach has been resolved and our website is working normally, we have notified the police and relevant authorities”.
BA has been in contact with those affected already but the process has taken longer than expected largely due to the sheer magnitude of the emails being sent out.
For any customers that think they have been the subject of fraud as a result of this data breach are advised to get in touch with their bank or credit card providers immediately to stop any additional fraud taking place, British Airways added in the statement. Also, anyone that has already been contacted by BA should also take additional precautions by changing their online passwords as well as monitoring their accounts/bank statements on the cards that were used for their travel booking.
“We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused. We take the protection of our customers’ data very seriously,” Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chairman and chief executive said.
If you want to take additional measures to protect your business from potential cyber attacks or data breaches, then why not get your business Cyber Security Certified with Advantage by getting in touch with our team of IT experts today.
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