In a surprising twist of events, an airline that recently fell victim to a cyberattack is urging its customers to take immediate action by canceling their existing credit cards and applying for new ones. The breach resulted in the compromise of sensitive data, including Card Verification Value (CVV) numbers, card numbers, and their expiration dates.
The affected company, Air Europa, a prominent Spanish airline, is strongly advising certain customers to pursue card replacements. The breach has raised concerns about potential vulnerabilities, leaving these customers susceptible to threats such as card spoofing and cyber fraud.
Fortunately, the airline’s vigilant IT staff acted swiftly to contain the incident, thereby preventing extensive disruptions for millions of its valued customers. Air Europa reassures its customers that, at present, there is no concrete evidence of the stolen card details being misused online. Nevertheless, due to the persistent threat, the company is taking the proactive step of recommending a complete credit card replacement.
Adding to the urgency of the situation, the Spanish Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has issued a stern warning. It is poised to take rigorous actions against the airline if it fails to safeguard its customers’ information effectively. This is not the first time the OCU has taken such measures; in 2021, it imposed a substantial fine of €600,000 on Air Europa for its failure to protect the data of 500,000 customers in a 2018 data breach. With this recent breach, the OCU is poised to follow suit, potentially pushing for governmental and aviation authority intervention to revoke the company’s operational license if it fails to safeguard its customers’ credit card data in the future.
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