The British airline British Airways (BA) is due to steal customer data 183.39 million British pounds (almost 205 million euros) to pay fine. This was announced by the UK Data Protection Authority Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) today. An appeal can still be filed against the decision.
According to ICO figures, about 500,000 BA customers were affected by the data theft in the summer of 2018. They were partially redirected from the airline’s website during the online flight booking to a fraud site where their log-in, credit card, travel and address information was collected.
Blame for the incident were „weak security arrangements“ with the airline, so the authority. „People’s personal data is just that: personal. If an organization does not protect them from loss, damage or theft, that is more than an inconvenience, „said UK Data Protection Officer Elizabeth Denham, according to ICO News.
Airline boss „surprised and disappointed“
BA CEO Alex Cruz, on the other hand, was „surprised and disappointed“ by the authority’s decision. The airline responded quickly to the data theft, and no fraudulent activity was detected in connection with the stolen data. Head of BA parent company, International Airlines Group, Willie Walsh, announced his opposition to the decision.
