Airline Cathay Pacific has apologised after customer data was breached and frequent flyer miles were stolen from some Asia Miles accounts.
Personal particulars and travel details were exposed, though no credit card information was at risk, the flagship carrier said in a Thursday statement.
“Our preliminary investigation suggests that Asia Miles theft by unauthorised parties was the primary motivation, though the misuse of personal data remains a possibility,” the statement said.
“We have identified that approximately 1,000 Cathay accounts, most of which belong to Hong Kong-based members, were impacted by this incident,” the carrier added.
Cathay said that it has already been in touch with the majority of affected members, reinstated their lost Asia Miles and restored their accounts. Remaining members are being identified, and their accounts have been temporarily locked for security purposes.
Cybersecurity incidents
The incident was reported to the authorities, including The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Cathay said.
On Monday, Hongkong Post said that a cyberattack on its online shipping portal may have exposed the personal data of senders and recipients.
The PCPD, Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog, said in November that 70 per cent of Hong Kong companies had experienced some form of cyberattack in the past year.
In March, Hong Kong lawmakers passed a law meant to enhance safeguards for the city’s key infrastructure systems against cyberattacks, imposing fines of up to HK$5 million for cybersecurity lapses.
