British Airways apologises after 380,000 customers hit in cyberattack

FILE PHOTO: People queue with their luggage for the British Airways check-in desk at Gatwick Airport in southern England, Britain, May 28, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

LONDON: British Airways was forced to apologise on Sept 7 after the credit card details of hundreds of thousands of its customers were stolen over a two-week period in the worst ever attack on its website and app. 

The airline discovered on Sept 5 that bookings made between Aug 21 and Sept 5 had been infiltrated in a “very sophisticated, malicious criminal” attack, BA chairman and chief executive Alex Cruz said. It immediately contacted customers when the extent of the breach became clear.