Hackers steal personal data of 9 million EasyJet customers in ‘highly sophisticated’ cyber attack

Criminals gained access to emails and travel history for around nine million customers of British budget airline EasyJet, obtaining the credit card details of more than 2,000 of them, the company has said.

“There is no evidence that any personal information of any nature has been misused,” the airline said, as cited by the media.

We are communicating with the approximately nine million customers whose travel details were accessed to advise them of protective steps to minimize any risk of potential phishing.

EasyJet said it had contacted forensic experts to investigate the hack. The airline also notified the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Cyber Security Center.

EasyJet has apologized for the incident and said that it is currently contacting all “relevant customers directly,” and will notify everyone who was affected by the hack no later than May 26.

“It has become clear that, owing to Covid-19, there is heightened concern about personal data being used for online scams,” noted the airline’s CEO Johan Lundgren.

Major airlines have experienced large-scale cyber-attacks in recent years. In 2018, criminals targeted British Airways’ website and their mobile app, stealing personal data and payment information of around 380,000 passengers. The same year, Delta Air Lines said that the financial data of their clients may have been compromised after a third-party chat service used by the airline was hit by malware.

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