Personal data belonging to a judge, politicians, and defense workers has been published on the dark web following a cyberattack on three UK airports last month, The Mail on Sunday has revealed. The data, stolen from an estimated 8.7 million customers of Manchester, Stansted, and East Midlands airports, was released online Tuesday.
The publication occurred after the airports' operator, Manchester Airports Group (MAG), reportedly refused to meet an undisclosed ransom demand from the cyber-extortion group FulcrumSec.
Analysis of the leaked data shows it includes sensitive information related to the travel movements of a circuit judge, parliamentary workers, Home Office and Bank of England staff, and members of the Armed Forces. Numerous email addresses purporting to belong to celebrities and Premier League footballers were also found among the records.
Specific examples of compromised data include a judge's airport booking made using an official judicial email address, the vehicle registration and upcoming travel plans of a Bank of England official, and the number plate and future travel details of a Home Office employee.
The hackers, FulcrumSec, breached MAG's IT system on August 22 and 23. MAG later confirmed the attack on August 27. The group claims that data was obtained through access to car park, lounge, and fast-track bookings, as well as through passengers signing up for airport Wi-Fi. MAG stated that no banking or payment details were compromised.
FulcrumSec asserted that the stolen data contained future travel plans for nearly 200,000 passengers. The group stated it withheld these records from the public leak due to security risks, claiming MAG's refusal to pay a ransom necessitated the removal of the most sensitive travel details.
MAG issued a warning to customers, urging them to be alert to potential scams and to be cautious of unexpected communications claiming to be from the airport operator. The group assured customers that the risk had been contained, that specialist advisers were engaged, and that appropriate steps were being taken to protect customer information and systems. MAG also confirmed it had informed and was working with relevant authorities, emphasizing that passenger safety and aviation security were not compromised and that airport operations remained unaffected.
FulcrumSec, however, blamed MAG for the data leak, characterizing it as a consequence of the operator's alleged negligence and lack of concern for passengers, accusing the company of lying about the breach's scale and scope.