The airline industry is facing fresh security concerns after a data breach at Amadeus exposed passenger booking details across several carriers. Singapore Airlines has confirmed that around 46,000 booking records were affected.
Reportedly, the exposed information includes passenger names, booking reference numbers, travel details, and booking classes. Moreover, in nearly 620 cases, hackers have accessed email addresses, phone numbers, travel document details, and KrisFlyer membership numbers of passengers.
The breach primarily involved Amadeus’ booking display system. The company provides reservation services to airlines and other travel businesses. Fortunately, Singapore Airlines said its own IT systems were not affected, and Amadeus also confirmed that passengers’ bank account and credit card details were not exposed to the hackers.
Other airlines reporting affected records include Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Asiana Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines. Cathay Pacific reported around 53,000 affected bookings, while Japan Airlines disclosed that information linked to around 92,000 customers was exposed. Asiana Airlines and Malaysia Airlines, however, didn’t disclose the number of customers affected in the breach.
Singapore Airlines has started contacting affected customers with upcoming trips. The airline is also changing its booking reference numbers as a safety step. Amadeus has introduced additional security measures to deal with the incident.
Also Read: 10 Essential Cybersecurity Tips to Protect Yourself from Online Threats
Airlines depend on third-party websites like Amadeus to manage bookings, ticket sales, and passenger details. These services help the carriers to handle millions of travel requests. However, using the same technology provider also comes with risks.
The slightest security flaw in the system can affect multiple airlines and companies at once. If hackers somehow gain access to the shared systems, they can easily acquire the details of millions of customers across airlines. This makes reservation platforms an important target for cyberattacks.
Now that more airlines are using shared platforms for flight booking and other services, both service providers and the carriers must be careful with their security rules. They must implement stronger security checks and faster action to prevent security breaches, as it has become a common problem across sectors.