EasyJet has become the latest company to have suffered a significant cyber-attack with the personal information of over 9 million customers being exposed as a result.
The company revealed yesterday that both email addresses and travel details were accessed and that it would be contacting those customers affected imminently.
According to EasyJet, of the 9 million people impacted by this breach, 2,208 had their credit card details stolen with no passport details being revealed.
They have stated that the customers that have had their credit card details stolen have already been informed about this with the other customers affected to be informed by the 26th of May at the latest.
Following this announcement, EasyJet did not reveal exactly how this breach had happened, however did say that they had closed off this unauthorised access and flagged up this incident with the National Cyber Security Centre and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the data regulator.
With this breach, EasyJet has made history for all the wrong reasons as it is the largest breach to affect any company in the UK and increases the likelihood of EasyJet being slapped with a significant fine at a time where they have been struggling financially as a result of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
This breach follows in the footsteps of other companies such as British Airways & Marriott Hotels to have suffered a significant data breach.
At this stage, the ICO has suggested that EasyJet get in touch with all the customers affected as there is an increased risk of phishing fraud (we’ve got an article that provides 4 tips on how to spot phishing emails).
The ICO’s ability to hand out fines to companies has increased following the introduction of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation back in May 2018.
EasyJet further stated that “there is no evidence that any personal information of any nature has been misused”.
Next Steps?
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