EasyJet hack hits 9 million customersBritish airline EasyJet says it was the victim of a cyber attack which exposed the email addresses and travel details of about 9 million of its customers, reports Bloomberg News. The company said in a statement that 2,208 of those customers had their credit card information accessed in what the company defines as a "highly sophisticated" attack.
EasyJet said it has already closed the unauthorized access that enabled data breach and contacted customers who were exposed to their credit card information.
While EasyJet says "there is no indication that any personal information of any sort has been misused," it added that by May 26 it will contact all 9 million customers affected by the breach. No passport details have been exposed in the hack, reports The Guardian.
Outside of the customers who have had their credit card information leaked, the risk would be phishing attempts for most of the 9 million customers affected. Criminals would know whether an person was an EasyJet customer, and may copy emails from the company as part of a scam. The business said it's warning customers to be vigilant of any unsolicited emails that appear to be from EasyJet or EasyJet Holidays.
"We want to apologize to those customers affected by this incident," Johan Lundgren, CEO of EasyJet, said in a statement. "We contact those clients whose travel information has been hacked, and we advise them to be extra cautious, particularly if they receive unsolicited communications."
Once asked for comment, a UK data protection authority spokesperson, the Information Commissioner's Office, stated that the organisation is currently investigating the cyber attack, and repeated the advice from EasyJet to look out for alleged phishing scams. "Whoever is affected by data breaches must be especially careful about potential phishing attacks and scam messages. We've provided tips on how to spot possible phishing emails on our website, "the spokesperson said.
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