British Airways confirmed security breaches and frequent unauthorized access to thousands of frequent flyer accounts, but did not provide further details.
Over the weekend, the company admitted that several frequent flyer accounts had been hacked, resulting in the accounts currently being deactivated until the issue is resolved.
A company spokesperson told The Guardian that it is not believed that any personal information such as names, addresses, credit card details, travel history or other personally identifiable information was stolen. The company spokesperson said:
“ British Airways has become aware of some unauthorised activity on a small number of Executive Club frequent flyers. It appears to have been the result of information being used from elsewhere on the internet, through an automated process, to attempt to gain access to certain accounts.”
It is currently unknown who or who is behind the intrusions into the company's systems.
British Airways' Executive Club attracts thousands of members, but the hack likely only affected a small fraction of the airline's users. However, on Twitter, there are plenty of people expressing their concerns. One person complained that his Avios - frequent flyer points that can be spent on upgrades and extras on a flight - had been stolen. According to posts on the airline's forum, there are many accounts that have been reset or locked out entirely.
In an email sent to some accounts believed to have been affected by the hack, British Airways said the accounts had been activated for protection, and that passwords had been changed and required resetting. The airline also said Avios bonus points had been temporarily suspended.
“We regret the concern and disruption this issue has caused and would like to reassure customers that we take this incident very seriously.”
The company claims that the security issues are likely to be resolved in the coming days.
