Hackers have demanded a ransom from Manchester Airport Group after accessing contact details and vehicle registrations from 8.7 million passengers.
MAG, which owns East Midlands, Stansted and Manchester Airports, said that it had refused to pay the ransom.
“Manchester Airports Group has been subject to a cyber security incident by an unauthorised third party. A quantity of customer data has been obtained that relates to car park, lounge and Fast Track bookings and in-airport WIFI sign-ups at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports,” read a statement.
“We immediately contained the risk and have been working with specialist advisors and taking appropriate steps to protect our customers and systems. We have informed and are working with the relevant authorities. At no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.”
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The statement continued to explain that while personal details had been accessed, bank details weren’t:
“The incident has not resulted in any operational disruption. Airport operations remain unaffected and customer parking services continue to operate normally.”
“Neither MAG nor the system accessed hold customers’ bank or payment details. The data that has been accessed includes customers’ email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.
“We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
MAG said that as soon as it became aware it engaged specialist cyber security experts and notified the authorities.
