Hack Exposes Financial and Personal Details of 380K British Airways Passengers

Speaking in a live interview with the BBC on Friday, BA boss Alex Cruz described the attack as “sophisticated” and “malicious.” He also apologized for the incident and reassured passengers that the airline would be willing to offer compensation to those who had been affected by the security breach.

British Airways (BA) has confirmed that it is actively looking into a major security breach, an incident that has resulted in the theft of the financial and personal details for passengers who had recently used the carrier’s website and app. According to its website, BA said that the breach occurred “between 21st August and 5th September.”

Commenting on the incident to the BBC on Friday, Alex Cruz, the carrier’s chief executive, confirmed that passengers’ personal and financial details had been compromised by what he described as a “sophisticated, malicious criminal attack.” While the outlet states that more than 380,000 transactions were impacted by the attack, no travel or passport information has been stolen.

Cruz added that BA is willing to offer financial compensation for those affected by the breach. “We are committed to working with any customer who may have been financially affected by this attack, and we will compensate them for any financial hardship that they may have suffered,” he said.

Cruz was also quick to offer an apology, saying, “We’re extremely sorry. I know that it is causing concern to some of our customers, particularly those customers that made transactions over BA.com and app.”

On its website, the airline confirmed that the incident has now been resolved and that, “No British Airways customer will be left out of pocket as a result of this criminal cyber attack on its website, ba.com, and the airline’s mobile app.” An e-mail – the text of which can be viewed at LoyaltyLobby – was also sent to customers to alert them to the breach.

BA has advised that those who are concerned that their details may have been comprised contact their bank or credit card company. However, as suggested here by members of FlyerTalk‘s BA forum, various banks and credit card companies are using different strategies to protect customers’ details.

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