Details of Passengers Lufthansa and Daughters Captured in the Hack

In a cyber-attack on IT service provider Sita, which helps many airline companies with baggage handling and ticketing systems, a series of customer data on airline passengers was stolen.

 

This includes data from customers of the Miles and More loyalty program of the German Lufthansa, which is also used by subsidiaries such as Brussels Airlines. That program has more than 1.3 million customers.

According to Lufthansa, the data stolen includes the numbers of the “Miles and More” cards, the customer’s status, and sometimes the traveller’s name. Information such as passwords, email addresses and other personal details would not have been stolen.

According to Lufthansa, the hackers gained access to the customers’ data through an Asian airline, which is also part of the Star Alliance partnership. Sita has also confirmed the attack and has taken steps to mitigate the impact.

In addition to Lufthansa, Star Alliance partners such as the American United Airlines and the New Zealand Air New Zealand would have been affected by the hack. Sita has also approached Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Finnair and the South Korean low-cost carrier Jeju Air. A total of 26 airlines are members of the alliance.

Sita claims to be the world’s leading aviation ICT specialist. The company is active for almost the entire sector. KLM also uses the services of Sita. As far as is known, no data has been stolen from Dutch society. According to a spokesperson, no reports were received, and no irregularities were found. KLM says it will keep an eye on the situation.