British Airways revealed thousands of customers’ personal data was ‘compromised’ after hackers accessed its website and mobile app.
According to the airline, the customers using the BA website or mobile app to make “bookings” between Aug. 21 and Sept. 5 are the ones who should be nervously checking their credit card statements.
Around 380,000 card payments have been compromised.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chairman and chief executive, said: ‘We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused. ‘We take the protection of our customers’ data very seriously.’
BA said the stolen data did not include travel or passport details, adding that an urgent investigation into the security breach has been launched.
The company said the breach is now resolved and the website is back to normal.
“The personal and financial details of customers making bookings on ba.com and the airline’s mobile app were compromised,” the press release reiterated. “No passport or travel details were stolen.”
Still, British Airways thinks that if you used its services during the aforementioned time period you should maybe go ahead and get in touch with your bank posthaste.
You know, just in case. But what you do after you call the bank? Well, that’s not for BA to say, of course. “We recommend you contact your bank and follow their recommended advice,” read the statement.
The company said it is notifying affected customers and has advised anyone who thinks they may have been targeted to contact their banks or credit card providers.
This isn’t the first time an airline’s customers have been affected by a data breach.
In April of this year the Wall Street Journal reported that a hack of one of Delta’s vendors possibly exposed the credit card details of hundreds of thousands of its customers.
It seems that British Airways is following the worst kind of airline trend.