Hackers Take Data From 8.7 Million Airport Customers
Three UK airports say hackers took customer information and asked for money.
Hackers took data from three UK airports.
The airports are Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted.
About 8.7 million customers lost their data.
Most of the data was email addresses. People gave them for airport WiFi.
The hackers asked for money. The airport group said no.
The company says the data did not include bank details.
The company says customers must be careful with strange emails.
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UK Airport Group Refuses to Pay Ransom After Data Hack
Manchester Airports Group says hackers accessed the data of about 8.7 million customers at the weekend.
Three big UK airports have been hit by a cyber security incident. Criminal hackers took the data of almost nine million people and asked for a ransom.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) owns Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports. It said hackers got customers' contact details, vehicle registrations and postcodes at the weekend.
MAG told the BBC that the hackers asked for money to give the data back, but the group refused to pay. It did not say how much money the hackers wanted. The data of about 8.7 million customers was accessed.
Most of the data was only email addresses from people who signed up for WiFi in the airport terminals. More detailed data came from people who booked car-park spaces, lounges or fast-track. MAG said the system did not hold bank or payment details.
The company said it only learned about the hack on Tuesday. It then stopped the hackers quickly and told the customers. Customers should be careful with strange emails, text messages or phone calls, and should not open attachments from people they do not know.
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Hackers Access Data of 8.7 Million Customers at Three UK Airports
Manchester Airports Group says it refused to pay a ransom after criminals took email addresses, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
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. The group told the BBC that the hackers had demanded a ransom fee for the return of the data, but that it had refused to pay. The sum of the ransom fee was not disclosed.
The data of about 8.7 million customers was accessed. The majority of it was restricted to customer email addresses and related to WiFi sign-ups within the airports' terminals, MAG said. More detailed data, including vehicle registrations, came from people booking car-park spaces, arranging access to lounges and booking fast-track. The company said the system that was hacked did not hold customers' bank or payment details, and that "at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised".
MAG said it only became aware of the hack on Tuesday. It then quickly prevented the hackers from gaining any more access and notified affected customers. "We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems," the company said, adding that it had informed and was working with the relevant authorities.
In a statement, MAG apologised "for any inconvenience or concern caused" and said it took the security of customer information extremely seriously. Customers are urged to remain vigilant about suspicious emails, text messages or phone calls, and to avoid opening attachments from unknown contacts. MAG said the identity of the hackers was known.
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