Nine Million EasyJet Customers Hacked

British budget airline EasyJet has said that nine million customer data, email addresses and travel details have been stolen and that 2,208 customers also had their credit card details hacked.

EasyJet say they first became aware of the attack in January. Stolen credit card data included the three digital security code, known as the CVV number, on the back of the card itself. It admitted that it has only gone public now in order to warn the nine million customers whose email addresses had been stolen to be wary of phishing attacks, saying that it will notify everyone affected by 26 May.

The airline did not provide details about the nature of the attack or the motives, but said its investigation suggested hackers were targeting "company intellectual property" rather than information that could be used in identity theft. 

"There is no evidence that any personal information of any nature has been misused, however, on the recommendation of the ICO, we are communicating with the approximately nine million customers whose travel details were accessed to advise them of protective steps to minimise any risk of potential phishing.....We are advising customers to be cautious of any communications purporting to come from EasyJet or EasyJet Holidays," the company said.

Phishing 
Phishing attempts, which see criminals sending emails with links to fake web pages that steal personal data, have risen exponentially during the coronavirus crisis. Google blocks over 100 million phishing emails daily to Gmail users.
Under GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), if EasyJet is found to have mishandled customer data, it could face fines of up to 4% of its annual worldwide turnover.

Generally, personal details can be used by fraudsters to access bank accounts, open accounts and take out loans in the innocent victims' names, make fraudulent purchases, or sell on to other criminals. The risks to those whose card details have been compromised are clear. Their provider should already have stopped the card, a new one will be issued, and they will need to sort out any regular payments coming from that card.

Following a similar data breach at British Airways in 2018, some found this a frustrating and time-consuming task.
Millions of people whose email addresses and travel details have been accessed will need to change passwords, and be wary of any unexpected transactions.

Everyone else, particularly EasyJet customers whose details have not been affected, must be alert to other unsolicited emails and messages. 

Fraudsters will likely try to impersonate as EasyJet, banks, or the authorities and claim to be dealing with this latest breach to defraud customers. They are simply trying to steal personal details themselves. Keep a close eye on credit card bills for anything untoward. You should change any passwords on affected accounts – and also any others if you used the same password elsewhere.

If you get a call from your bank or card company saying it has noticed fraudulent transactions, be on your guard. End the call and then phone the bank or card company back to check it was legitimate. Also, don’t hand over any passcodes or passwords to anyone, whoever they claim to be.

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