A cyber attack has taken place at 3 major airports in the UK, in which hackers stole the data of about 8.7 million people and demanded a ransom in return.
According to British media, Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports were attacked by hackers.
The report claims that sensitive data of 8.7 million users was stolen. Emails, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes have fallen into the hands of hackers. Data on car parking, lounge and fast track bookings has also been affected.
According to media reports, data of Wi-Fi users at airports has also been hacked.
According to Manchester Airports Group, hackers obtained contact information, vehicle registration numbers and postcodes of users over the weekend.
The group told the BBC that the hackers demanded a ransom in exchange for the data, but the company refused to pay. The ransom amount was not disclosed.
According to the company, passenger safety or aviation security was not affected at any stage and the system that was hacked did not contain customers’ banking or payment information.
According to the company, the data of about 8.7 million customers was affected, most of which included email addresses. This information related to Wi-Fi sign-ups in airport terminals.
The group has assured customers that it takes information security very seriously and apologizes for any inconvenience or concern caused by the incident.
According to the company, it became aware of the cyber attack on Tuesday, after which further access by hackers was immediately blocked and affected customers were also notified.
The group said that the threat had been immediately contained, while the necessary measures were being taken with the help of experts to protect customers and its systems. The relevant authorities have also been informed of the incident.