Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports, which are all owned by Manchester Airports Group (MAG), have been hit by a cyber attack in which customers’ personal data has been compromised.
The hackers accessed approximately 8.7M customers’ data and demanded a ransom for the return of the data, but MAG refused to pay, according to BBC News.
A MAG spokesperson said: “Manchester Airports Group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party.
“A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WIFI sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports.
“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems. We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities. At no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.”
“The incident has not resulted in any operational disruption. Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.
“Neither MAG nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
“We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
An Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) spokesperson said: “We can confirm we have received a breach report from Manchester Airports Group, and we are assessing the information provided.
“We understand that these incidents can be concerning for the public. Anyone worried about their personal information can visit the ICO website for advice and support.
“Personal accounts should be protected by a strong password and the same password should not be used across multiple accounts.
“We also advise checking regularly for updates from the organisation impacted and following their advice if they confirm that an individual’s personal information has been compromised.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We are working with Manchester Airport Group (MAG) in response to a cyber incident and understand they have worked quickly to contain the issue and contact all affected passengers. Neither passenger safety nor aviation security have been compromised.
“The National Cyber Security Centre encourages anyone who thinks they may have been the victim of a data breach to be especially vigilant against suspicious emails, phone calls, or text messages and to follow the steps set out in their data breaches guidance.”
It is the latest cyber incident to hit the UK after a series of cyber attacks – including a small UK power plant having been taken offline for 4 days in an Iran-linked cyber attack and warnings from UK and allied cyber security agencies.
On 21 August, the US Infrastructure and Cybersecurity Infrastructure Agency (CISA) said it had “observed malicious cyber activity targeting over 100 internet-exposed systems in the water and wastewater systems sector”.