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Manchester Airports Group says hackers accessed data of nearly 9 million
The airport operator said it contained the incident after learning of it on Tuesday, and that the stolen information did not include bank or payment details.
Manchester Airports Group, which operates Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports, said hackers accessed the data of nearly nine million people and demanded a ransom. BBC Business said customer contact details, vehicle registrations and postcodes were obtained by the attackers at the weekend.
In a statement to the BBC, MAG said it refused to pay the ransom, and that passenger safety and aviation security were not compromised. The company added that the system hacked did not include customers' bank or payment information, and that it only held certain customer data tied to airport services.
MAG said it first became aware of the cyber security incident on Tuesday and moved to prevent additional access, then notified affected customers. The operator said most of the data related to email addresses from on-site WiFi signups, while vehicle registrations came from car-park bookings, lounge access arrangements and fast-track bookings.
The BBC reported that passengers were urged to stay alert for suspicious emails, text messages or phone calls and to avoid opening unknown attachments. Affected customers said they received breach notices, with one traveler describing the concern around the possibility of further harm.