British Airways boss apologizes for data breach



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The chief executive of British Airways apologized for what he described as a very sophisticated violation of the company's security systems.

Alex Cruz told the BBC that hackers had conducted a "sophisticated and malicious criminal attack" on his website.

The airline said the personal and financial data of customers making reservations had been compromised.

About 380,000 transactions were affected, but the stolen data did not include details of the trip or passport.

BA stated that the violation occurred between 22:58 BST on 21 August and 21:45 BST on 5 September.

"The violation has been resolved and our website is functioning normally," BA said in a statement.

"We have informed the police and the relevant authorities, we are deeply sorry for the disruption this criminal activity has caused, and we take the protection of our customers' data very seriously."

BA said all customers affected by the violation had been contacted Thursday night. The violation only affects those who purchased tickets during the period provided by BA, and not on other occasions.

Legend

BA has published newspaper ads apologizing for the data breach

He added that anyone who thought they had been affected had to contact their credit card or bank provider and follow his recommendations.

Alex Cruz, President and CEO of British Airways, said: "We are deeply sorry for the disruption caused by this criminal activity and we take the protection of our customers' data very seriously."

The airline has released advertisements apologizing for the violation in Friday's newspapers.

The company could potentially face fines from the Office of the Information Commissioner, which reviews the violation.

Card canceled

The National Crime Agency and the National Cyber ​​Security Center confirmed that they were assessing the incident.

Consumers group who? Affected individuals may be required to change their passwords online, monitor their bank accounts and other online accounts and be wary of what fraudsters refer to as the violation in fraudulent emails.

Author's right of the image
Getty Images

Legend

BA stated that people who booked through their website and app were affected

Meanwhile, BA's customers have expressed frustration with the airline on social media.

Matt Thomas stated that he had made a reservation on August 27, but that he had not been contacted about the violation.

"It's atrocious that I needed to know more about the news and Twitter," he tweeted.

"I called the bank and had to cancel mine and my wife's card, and I probably will not get it back before stealing (ironically)."

Gemma Theobald tweeted: "My bank … is experiencing extremely high call volumes because of this violation! We can do nothing but cancel my card … not like I wanted to spend my Thursday night . "

& # 39; Chair injury & # 39;

This is not the first customer relationship problem to affect the airline lately.

In July, BA apologized after computer problems caused the cancellation of dozens of flights at Heathrow Airport.

A number of short-haul flights were canceled following an incident involving a "vendor computer system".

The previous month, more than 2,000 BA passengers saw their tickets canceled because the prices were too low.

BA apologized for the error on flights to Tel Aviv and Dubai, but customers said they were angry because their tickets were not honored.

And in May 2017, serious problems with British Airways' computer systems resulted in disruptions in the plans of thousands of passengers, following the cancellation of all flights departing from Heathrow and Gatwick.

"This does not indicate that information systems are the strongest in the airline industry," said Simon Calder, editor of The Independent newspaper, BBC.

However, he does not think that BA will be affected in the long term by the violation.

"The airline has tremendous potential, including the majority of slots at Heathrow and an enviable safety record, although it is embarrassing and potentially costs tens of millions of pounds that nothing serious", he said. said.


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