380,000 British Airways' Customer Data Stolen As Website Got Hacked

British Airways is UK's flag carrier and the largest airline in the country based on fleet size.

When its website got hacked, the hackers were able to stole 380,000 of its customers' data. They include names, addresses, phone number, and payment information (card numbers and CVV codes). However, the compromised data didn't include travel details or passport.

The airline said that the data was stolen from between August 21 and September 5, and it's "investigating, as a matter of urgency, the theft of customer data from our website and our mobile app."
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"There was a very sophisticated and malicious criminal attack on our website," Cruz said. "We have a network of partners that are monitoring continuously what happens to websites across the world. We got a signal from one of those partners," said the airline's CEO, Alex Cruz.

One analyst said the stolen data would be worth more than £20 million, making it one of the biggest single UK payment card security blunders in UK history.

British Airways promises to reimburse any customer who loses money due to the data breach. "We will compensate them for any financial hardship that they may have suffered," Cruz said.

On behalf of the company, Cruz apologized for the exposure of data, and British Airways is contacting customers who were affected, recommending that they get in touch with their bank or credit card company. It also said that the breach has been resolved and customers can book tickets safely.

The National Cyber Security Center, which is part of Britain's GCHQ security and intelligence agency, said that British Airways' recent customers should consider changing their passwords for bank and credit accounts and monitor their accounts for any suspicious transactions.

News of the data breach follows a string of IT and technical problems for the carrier.

Previously in 2017, a glitch in British Airways' IT system brought its operations to a grinding halt in the UK. Affecting 700 flights to be canceled, 75,000 customers were stranded over the course of several days. Then in August 2017, British Airways apologized for more delays, after passengers had to be checked in by hand due to "an information technology-related check-in system problem."

On July 2018, another software problem left 10,000 customers stranded. No hacking group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The UK’s National Crime Agency tweeted saying that is looking into the issue and Information. If the carrier is found to have been negligent in its security practices, it can face a fine of up to 4 percent of its global revenues.