Cyber attack hits Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports as customer data stolen

Manchester Airports Group said an unauthorised third party breached a system containinginformation linked to airport parking, lounges, Fast Track bookings and Wi-Fi sign-ups

Customers at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports have had personal information stolen in a cyber security breach involving booking and Wi-Fi systems.

Manchester Airports Group, which owns all three airports, said an unauthorised third party obtained data connected with airport car parking, lounge and Fast Track bookings as well as people who signed up to in-airport Wi-Fi.

The information accessed includes email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations and postcodes.

MAG said neither it nor the system involved holds customers’ bank or payment details, meaning those details were not exposed in the breach.

But affected customers are being contacted directly and warned to be particularly cautious of unexpected emails, text messages and phone calls which could attempt to exploit the stolen information.

The group said it would never unexpectedly contact customers asking for payment card details, banking information or passwords.

There has been no disruption to flights or airport operations and MAG said passenger safety and aviation security had not been compromised.

Existing bookings also remain valid, although access to the airports’ online Manage My Booking service has been temporarily suspended as a precaution.

Customers who need to make an urgent change to a booking taking place within the next 72 hours have been told to contact customer services by telephone.

MAG said: “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.”

The group said it had restricted access to affected systems after becoming aware of the incident and brought in specialist cyber security experts, with its data protection team overseeing the response.

Customers whose details may have been compromised are being advised to watch for suspicious communications and avoid clicking links or opening attachments in unexpected messages.

The airports continue to operate normally, with parking services unaffected and passengers told to travel as planned.

It added: “At no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised.”

READ MORE: Governments need private-sector firepower to fight the next cyber war. Governments cannot defend national digital infrastructure alone as AI accelerates attacks, cybercrime becomes industrialised and private companies control much of the technology on which states depend, warns Steve Durbin, Chief Executive of the Information Security Forum (ISF).

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_{Main image: An aerial view of London Stansted Airport, one of three airports affected by the Manchester Airports Group cyber security incident involving customer data. Credit: Thomas Nugent / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0.}