The BA Hack And How Not To Respond To A Cyber Attack

Chaos appears to reign at British Airways, where hackers stole the details of around 380,000 customer bookings. There have been some poor responses to cyber attacks on major companies in the past, but the airline’s actions in this case could be one of weakest in recent history. 

Part of this may be because companies are now required by the EU to report cyber-attacks within 72 hours, and because information may still be being withheld due to ongoing criminal investigation.

After the company experienced power issues within its IT systems in May 2018, you would think that BA would now have plans in place to respond to computer incidents more quickly and coherently. Yet this latest hack appears to show a catalogue of missed opportunities.

First, the hack looks to have lasted for more than two weeks, affecting bookings made between August 21 and September 5. Although this means that not all BA customers are at risk, just those who made bookings during that period, it’s also not yet clear exactly who has been negatively affected and whether they will lose money as a result.

When the hack was finally discovered, BA didn’t initially provide enough coherent and robust information on the actual scope of the data taken. The company’s main statement about the hack defined the data that was not included, passport and travel details, but didn’t spell out that bank card details were involved, instead advising customers to contact their banks. This seems like trying to put a positive spin on very bad news, and means that the potential theft of what customers are most worried about, their card details, was not highlighted.

In the frequently asked questions section of the statement’s web page, it stated that: “Names, addresses, and all bank card details were all at risk.” But this didn’t give the actual details of the hack, such as whether the CVV (card verification value) security codes found on the back of cards were revealed, although BA later provided this info to the media. To not reveal if the bank details were encrypted or not, leaves too many questions still be to answered.

To be on the safe side, BA is advising all affected customers to cancel their cards. This initially led to clogged bank phone lines due to the sheer number of affected customers. Unfortunately, at present, it is not clear exactly who has actually been negatively affected. Several customers have already reported fraud on their cards.

The knee-jerk nature of the reaction was probably due to the EU’s new general data protection regulation (GDPR) that says data breaches of this kind must be reported within 72 hours of discovery.

BA’s CEO, Alex Cruz, told the BBC that the company discovered the hack on Wednesday evening and had contacted all affected customers by Thursday night. “The first thing was to find out if it was something serious and who it affected or not. The moment that actual customer data had been compromised, that’s when we began immediate communication to our customers,” he said. He added: “We are committed to working with any customer who may have been financially affected by this attack, and we will compensate them for any financial hardship that they may have suffered.”

We should be grateful that, thanks to GDPR, the incident was at least made public quickly. Credit reporting agency Equifax took three months to report its data breach in 2017, during which time executives sold shares in the company, although an internal investigation cleared them of any insider or inappropriate trading, saying they had been unaware of the incident when they made the trades.

Dido Harding, the CEO of telecom firm TalkTalk, provided one of the best examples of how not to respond to a data breach. After the company was hacked in 2015, Harding appeared on TV suggesting customers should trust emails from TalkTalk addresses and which contained links through to the TalkTalk website. These are now understood to be standard techniques used by scammers to convince customers their emails are genuine.

Long-term impact
The maximum fine for a company data breach under GDPR is 4% of worldwide turnover. In 2017, BA’s turnover was over £12 billion, so if the company was hit with such a fine it could be over £480m, although the EU has yet to make any indication of whether the hack could lead to a fine. 

BA has already offered compensation for customers affected by the incident, which may reach significant amounts especially as many customers who BA alerted of the incident weren’t told whether their card details had actually been stolen.

As in other examples of commercial data breaches, the initial reporting has hit the company’s share price. The market value of BA’s parent group, International Consolidated Airlines Group, was initially dented by 3.8%.

But it is possibly the effect on customer trust that will have the most damage.

At present, few details have been released around the method of the hack. So it may involve traditional hacking methods of capturing data from a database. But if it involved capturing details of which keys users pressed on their keyboard, it would shake the foundation of our digital financial infrastructure to its core. 

If there’s one thing that this hack shows, it is that we live in an extremely fragile digital world and where hacks can go undetected for some time. So we need to build financial transfer systems that integrate encryption at every single step of the process.

The Conversation:

You Might Also Read: 

Brand Reputation Includes Cyber Safety:

What Your Board Needs To Know About GDPR:


 

« Edward Snowden Reconsidered
Snowden Demands A Penalty For Misuse Of Aadhaar Data »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

NordLayer

NordLayer

NordLayer is an adaptive network access security solution for modern businesses — from the world’s most trusted cybersecurity brand, Nord Security. 

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

WEBINAR: 2024 and Beyond: Top Six Cloud Security Trends

WEBINAR: 2024 and Beyond: Top Six Cloud Security Trends

April 4, 2024 | 11:00 AM PT: Join this webinar to find out about six emerging trends dominating the cloud cybersecurity landscape.

Reed Smith LLP

Reed Smith LLP

Reed Smith LLP is an international law firm with offices in the USA, Europe, Middle East and Asia. Practice areas include Information Technology, Privacy & Data Security.

cPacket Networks

cPacket Networks

cPacket’s distributed intelligence enables network operators to proactively identify imminent issues before they negatively impact end-users.

PrivateCore

PrivateCore

We protect data-in-use from hackers trying to steal data such as encryption keys, certificates, intellectual property.

Sandline Discovery

Sandline Discovery

Sandline Discovery provides digital forensics, eDiscovery solutions, managed review and litigation consulting services.

IDnow

IDnow

IDnow is the world’s fastest, most flexible and most secure identity verification platform, delivering instant verification of the identity documents used by 7 billion people.

Valtori

Valtori

Government ICT Centre Valtori provides sector-independent ICT services for the central government, while taking into account the special requirements related to security and preparedness.

Digital Innovation Hub Slovenia (DIH)

Digital Innovation Hub Slovenia (DIH)

DIH Slovenia is a central hub providing services to grow digital competencies in areas including robotics, IoT, cyberphysical systems and cybersecurity.

Quokka

Quokka

Quokka (formerly Kryptowire) is the source for mobile security and privacy solutions, staying steps ahead of the threat and delivering peace of mind.

VXRL

VXRL

VXRL is a Hong Kong-based cybersecurity company. We provide consulting services, penetration testing, and corporate training.

ZeroNorth

ZeroNorth

ZeroNorth provides a new approach to improve software and infrastructure security, simplify continuous compliance reporting and to create more cost-effective risk management programs.

Sigma IT

Sigma IT

SIGMA IT is one of the largest IT services organizations in EMEA region providing a full range of solutions and services including cybersecurity, data protection and business continuity.

Tetrad Digital Integrity (TDI)

Tetrad Digital Integrity (TDI)

TDI is a world-class consulting firm offering cybersecurity services to government agencies and commercial clients around the world.

Ridge Canada Cyber Solutions

Ridge Canada Cyber Solutions

Ridge Canada helps insurance brokers and insurance buyers understand, evaluate, and secure cyber coverage that is tailored to their business.

Everything Blockchain

Everything Blockchain

Everything Blockchain is a development, architecture, and software designer of Blockchain that also provides services specializing in blockchain technologies and decentralized processing.

Rocky Mountain Cybersecurity

Rocky Mountain Cybersecurity

Rocky Mountain Cybersecurity's mission is to provide value by dramatically improving the cybersecurity posture of our clients and business partners.

DEKRA

DEKRA

DEKRA’s promise is to ensure the safety of human interaction with technology and the environment.