Spanish airline hit by big online credit card system breach

A major security breach has hit Spanish airline, Air Europa, in the past 24 hours putting customers’ credit cards at risk.

Air Europa is said to be the third largest airline in Spain and its services are frequently called upon by Spanish nationals and people from all over the continent, however, they will have likely lost a lot of faith and confidence from their customers in recent times.

This is because they have become the latest company in the past few months to have been attacked by cybercriminals, although it remains to be seen what this one was done for as the company claims ‘there is no evidence that the data breach was used to commit any fraud.’

Air Europa hit by major credit card system hack

However, that won’t likely please customers who have logged their card details into the Air Europa system in the past when purchasing flights and holding deals, because they don’t know what these criminals planned to do with such important and private information.

It was an email which was sent out to several passengers informing them that Air Europa’s online security systems had been breached by criminals and this meant there could well have been unauthorised access to their bank accounts.

While the company have admitted that there appears to be no immediate threat to customers and their bank accounts as of right now, they have still advised everyone to have used Air Europa to take the following steps.

What should Air Europa customers do next?

1. Identify the card used to make payments on the Air Europa website
2. Contact your bank
3. Request the cancellation and/or replacement of the card used to avoid any potential fraudulent use of your personal information
4. Do not provide any personal information such as your PIN number via telephone calls, text messages, or email even if the person on the other end of the phone claims to be from your bank
5. Do not click on links that warn you of fraudulent operations and only contact your bank by verified means
6. Save any potential evidence of possible unauthorised use of your card and report it to the State Security Forces and Bodies

A lot of customers will be angered that their personal details – which they trusted to be handled and looked after by Air Europa – have been breached and potentially leaked into the hands of high-end criminals, but the airline company are quietly proud of how they handled the whole situation.

Air Europe released a statement that said: “There is no evidence that the data breach was used to commit any fraud.”

It remains to be seen what will happen next following this security breach for both the customers of Air Europa and the company itself as they could now face a very tough autumn and winter period if people feel unsafe logging their bank details in to pay for flights.