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Malaysia Airlines Frequent Flyers Data Exposed in Nine-Year Breach

Osaka, Japan - October 30 2014: Malaysia Airlines is a major airline operating flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to destinations throughout Asia

Members of Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich frequent flyer program are being warned their personal information may have been leaked anywhere between March 2010 and June 2019. The carrier announced an unknown number of flyers names, dates of birth, and contact details may have been exposed.

If you were a member of Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich program anywhere between March 2010 and June 2019, the airline says your personally identifiable information may have been exposed. Channel Asia reports the airline is now disclosing the data breach, which may have lasted up to nine years.

Exposed Data Includes Names, Dates-of-Birth, Status and Contact Information

According to the report, key details of flyers’ identities may have been revealed to hackers during the period. The data includes:

  • Member names
  • Dates-of-birth
  • Gender
  • Contact information
  • Frequent flyer number
  • Frequent flyer elite status
  • Loyalty tier level information

However, the carrier says that no itinerary information was leaked to hackers. In addition, reservations, ticketing information, identification card and credit card information were all kept secure.

The airline is not saying how many flyers may have been affected by the data breach. In a media statement, the carrier says they do not believe that any stolen data has been used against the flyers. Enrich members were first informed of the breach in an e-mail sent on Monday, March 1, 2021.

“Malaysia Airlines has no evidence that any personal data has been misused and the incident did not disclose any account passwords,” the airline statement read, according to Channel Asia. “We are nevertheless encouraging Enrich members to change their account passwords as a precautionary measure. The incident did not affect Malaysia Airlines’ own IT infrastructure and systems in any way.”

Data Breaches Continue to Bother Major Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs continue to be a major target for hackers, because they contain many data points that can be used to steal an identity. Yet, airlines aren’t the only victims of data breaches. In March 2020, Marriott Rewards announced they experienced a digital attack, leaking the information of over five million flyers.

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