Hackers steal data from millions of airport customers
Manchester Airports Group reported a cyber security breach that exposed the personal data of approximately 8.7 million customers. The stolen information includes email addresses, vehicle registrations, and postcodes, though no financial data was compromised.
Why it matters
This incident highlights the ongoing vulnerability of large-scale infrastructure and the risks associated with storing customer data from public services.
Image source, EPA Image caption, About 8.7 million customers across three UK airports had their data accessed
Three major UK airports have been hit by a "cyber security incident" in which criminal cyber hackers accessed the data of almost nine million people.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which owns Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports, said customers' contact details, vehicle registrations and postcodes were obtained by hackers at the weekend.
MAG said that "at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised" during the incident and the system hacked did not hold customers' bank or payment details.
It is understood that the majority of the data accessed was restricted to customer email addresses and related to wifi sign-ups within the airports' terminals.
The data of about 8.7 million customers was accessed.
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