Malaysia Airlines Security Incident Spanned 9 Years

Malaysia Airlines has suffered a data security “incident” that compromised personal information belonging to members of its frequent flyer programme, Enrich. The breach is purported to have occurred at some point during a period that spans almost a decade and involves a third-party IT service provider. 

The airline had sent out an emailer to Enrich members this week, stating it was notified of a “data security incident” at the third-party IT supplier. The breach involved “some personal data” and occurred some time between March 2010 and June 2019, it said, adding that these details included members’ name, date of birth, contact information, and various frequent flyer data such as number, status, and tier level. 

Travel data such as itineraries, reservations, ticketing, and ID card, as well as payment details were not compromised, according to Malaysia Airlines. Its own IT infrastructure or systems also were not affected, the carrier said.  

It noted that there was “no evidence” any personal data had been misused and the breach did not expose any account passwords, though, it urged Enrich members to change their passwords as a precaution. The airline also directed customers to pose any queries they might have directly via email to its data privacy officer. 

At press time, Malaysia Airlines had yet to make a public statement on the security breach or post a notice on its website. It did, however, appear to confirm the incident on Twitter in its replies to customers. 

In one of several such responses, the national carrier said: “The data security incident occurred at our third-party IT service provider and not Malaysia Airlines’ computer systems. However, the airline is monitoring any suspicious activity concerning its members’ accounts and in constant contact with the affected IT service provider to secure Enrich members’ data and investigate the incident’s scope and causes.”

It reiterated its stance that there was no indication the breach impacted any account passwords, but advised members to change their passwords as a precautionary measure. 

The airline just in January had announced plans to introduce a fare-based earning programme and new tier qualification framework for Enrich, slated to commence in April 2021. 

Singapore telco Singtel also recently suffered a data security breach that involved a third-party IT vendor, which file-sharing system had contained vulnerabilities that were unsuccessfully patched. 

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