EasyJet victim of cyber attack, millions of stolen data

Planes of the British company EasyJet stranded on the tarmac at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, due to the pandemic, on April 2, 2020. REUTERS / Piroschka van de Wouw

Text by: RFI Follow

This will not help EasyJet's business, which has already been weakened by the pandemic. The British airline has just announced that it has been the victim of a highly sophisticated cyber attack.

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The investigation seems to be directed towards a group of Chinese hackers. They are believed to be behind multiple similar cyberattacks, carried out in the past few months against other airlines.

Hackers who attacked EasyJet were able to access the personal data of approximately 9 million customers. They got their email addresses and travel details. In a small number of cases, just over 2,000 people, data from passenger credit cards were stolen.

The carrier does not specify when the attack took place. Data subjects should be informed by May 26 at the latest.

This incident comes at the worst for EasyJet, which, like the entire aviation sector, has been hit hard by the stopping of flights due to the pandemic. Unlike most of its competitors , the British company has not yet announced any layoffs, having resorted to massive short-time working.

In addition, the company has raised £ 600 million from the government to strengthen its finances.

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  • Cybercriminality
  • Transport
  • Aeronautics
  • United Kingdom

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