Air India Hack reveals the credit card and passport information of 4.5 million passengers

Indian airline Air India has discovered a data breach over a period of nearly 10 years that affected 4.5 million of its customers after SITA, its Passenger Service System (PSS) provider, was victim of a cyber attack earlier this year.

Data recorded between August 26, 2011 and February 3, 2021, including details such as name, date of birth, contact information, passport information, ticket information, Star Alliance and Air India frequent flyer information, and credit card information.

However, Air India said it did not affect credit card-linked CVV / CVC numbers or passwords.

The airline acknowledged the breach on March 19, stating that "its passenger service system provider reported a sophisticated cyberattack to which it was exposed in the last week of February 2021. 

In March, the Swiss aviation information technology company SITA announced that many airlines are using SITA PSS for processing airline passenger as part of their frequent flyer programs.

With the latest development, Air India joins a long list of airlines including Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Finnair, Malaysia Airlines, Jeju Air from South Korea, American Airlines and United Airlines. 

As part of the investigation into the incident, Air India announced that it had hired external specialists and informed credit card companies of the problem and reset passwords for the frequent flyer program.

Encourage users to change their passwords if necessary to prevent possible unauthorized attempts and to ensure the security of their personal information.