Hackers steal data from millions of UK airport customers
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) confirmed that hackers accessed the data of 8.7 million customers, including email addresses and vehicle registrations, after a cyber security incident. The group refused to pay a ransom and has notified the relevant authorities.
Why it matters
This large-scale data breach highlights the ongoing vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the importance of cybersecurity for public-facing entities.
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 hackers accessed the data of almost nine million people and demanded a ransom.
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 told the BBC the hackers demanded a ransom fee for the return of the data, which the group said it refused to pay. The sum of the ransom fee was not disclosed.
The firm said "at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised" and the system hacked did not hold customers' bank or payment details.
The data of about 8.7 million customers was accessed.
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