Star Alliance information breach impacts large numbers of airline travellers

A information breach concerning a third-party system service provider behind the Superstar Alliance of airlines offers exposed some info on thousands of airline travellers, potentially including customer titles and MileagePlus amounts. The leaked details won’t allow unauthorized people to gain access to passengers’ accounts, nevertheless.

The info breach was verified by Sita, which stated that a ‘data protection incident’ occurred that included the SITA Passenger Services Program servers, which operates the processing techniques for Celebrity Alliance airlines like United. Sita alerted the Superstar Alliance airlines, that have since suggested their customers of the info incident.

SITA describes the info breach as ‘a extremely sophisticated assault,’ noting that it ‘got immediate action’ after studying the incident on February 24. The company’s Safety Incident Response Group is dealing with third-party industry professionals to investigate the problem.

In its declaration, Sita mentioned:

We notice that the COVID-19 pandemic has raised worries about safety threats, and, simultaneously, cyber-criminals have grown to be more sophisticated and energetic. This was an extremely sophisticated strike. SITA acted swiftly and initiated focused containment procedures.

United, among the Celebrity Alliance airlines, provides alerted its clients to the problem by e-mail, noting that passwords and private information – apart from customer brands – weren’t exposed. Within its e-mail, United explained:

We’ve strong cyber security methods set up to protect your individual information, and both United and Superstar Alliance have examined our own techniques and discovered no indications they have already been compromised regarding the this incident.