Tech
British Airways confirms thousands of frequent-flyer accounts hacked
IMAGE: KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH/ASSOCIATED PRESS
British Airways is the latest high-profile company to fall victim to a large-scale hack. The company confirmed on Sunday that a security breach affected tens of thousands of its users' frequent-flyer accounts.
The UK-based airline told Mashable that users' personal data, such as travel history and credit card information, have not been viewed or stolen. However, British Airways has temporarily frozen affected accounts, and said some people may not be able to access their earned miles at this time.
“British Airways has become aware of some unauthorised activity in relation to a small number of frequent-flyer executive club accounts," a company spokesperson said. "This appears to have been the result of a third party using information obtained elsewhere on the internet, via an automated process, to try to gain access to some accounts."
The airline also apologized, and said it is currently investigating the breach: “We are sorry for the concern and inconvenience this matter has caused, and would like to reassure customers that we are taking this incident seriously, and have taken a number of steps to lock down accounts so they can no longer be accessed.”
While British Airways isn't necessarily encouraging users to change their passwords, now is a good time to do so to ensure your data is safe and secure.
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