Advertisement
Cathay Pacific data leak: airline warns customers to guard against phishing attempts
- Beleaguered Hong Kong airline says it is aware of attempted fraud, targeting some of the 9.4 million passengers whose data was hacked
- Cybersecurity experts call for Hong Kong to introduce a law that would force companies to declare data leaks within days
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Cathay Pacific Airways and IT experts have warned passengers to guard against dubious cyber links, as they expected phishing activities to surge following the massive data leak.
The city’s flagship carrier revealed belatedly on Wednesday night that the data of 9.4 million passengers had been illegally accessed, despite the breach being detected in March and confirmed in early May.
“We are aware that attempted phishing is taking place, and would like to remind people that emails related to this data security event will only be sent from [email protected],” the airline wrote on its website.
Cathay Pacific calls in police to investigate massive data breach
Passengers should not click on variations of links to data monitoring services, it added.
Advertisement
The airline has not immediately responded to a Post inquiry asking what online platforms these phishing activities were discovered on, and how many enquiries Cathay Pacific has received.
Advertisement
Phishing activities are commonly disguised messages sent by email or on social media using addresses or sites that resemble those of a reputable sender, in this case, Cathay. Typical phishing messages include links re-routing to suspicious websites, which may prompt for sensitive information to be submitted or for corrupted files, known as malware, to be downloaded.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x