Cybercriminals have published personal data belonging to 8.7 million individuals following a hack of the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which owns Manchester, Stansted, and East Midlands airports. Experts confirmed the leaked data includes email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, license plate numbers, purchasing history, and device browsing data.
Cyber-security expert Kevin Beaumont advised those affected to remain highly vigilant for scams, particularly those targeting high-profile or wealthy individuals. The stolen data contains historical and planned travel information, prompting warnings for individuals sensitive to their movements being known to take precautions. "People should be alert to scammers reusing the data and so knowing details such as phone numbers and car registration numbers," Beaumont stated.
MAG issued a statement urging customers to be vigilant for unsolicited emails, text messages, and phone calls. The company stated that passenger safety was not compromised during the incident and apologized for any concern caused. MAG stated it takes customer information security seriously.
Unusually, the cybercriminals posted the stolen data on a website hosted on the clear internet, rather than the dark web, making it more accessible and increasing the risk to victims. The hackers claimed to have breached each victim using the same method: exploiting vulnerabilities in how companies store digital keys for their internal networks.