According to recent revelation, it has been reported there has been a massive data breach happens in the air India. The data was collected between August 26, 2011, to February 20, 2021 has been breached by cyber attackers. Data of more than forty-five lakh people have been compromised in ten years. It has been estimated that a lot of personal data like name, date of birth, contact information, passport information, ticket details, credit card data have been compromised. The main culprit behind the massive data breach in air India is a “sophisticated cyberattack”. The spokesperson of air India has said that “While we and our data processor continue to take remedial actions.
We would also encourage passengers to change passwords wherever applicable to ensure the safety of their data,” the massive data breach is causing a lot of contention among the customers of Air India, people are in fear after hearing the news of data Brach in the service system provider of Air India. A lot of confusions and questions of customers of Air India are making round on the internet. People are seeking to know the exact limit of the data branch and what personal information has been breached by the cyber attackers to clear all the confusion of the masses. Air India has released several statements to clarify the detail and extent of the data breach. The reports suggest that 4.5 million passengers of Air India from all around the world are in the zone of the data breach. Air India has suggested to all its customers to change the password of their important login credentials.
The airline company further said that the breach of data occurred in the system service provider company “SITA”. A cyberattack has happened on SITA which caused the leak of personal information of more than 45,00,000 customers of air India. This cyberattack is one of the biggest data breach attacks of this century. The breach of personal data from a secured system shows, how vulnerable our personal information was on the internet. We must be cautious while sharing our information on the internet. In a further statement, the spokesperson of Air India also said that “Air India would like to inform its valued customers that its passenger service system provider has informed about a sophisticated cyberattack it was subjected to in the last week of February 2021”. The airline company also told that analysis of data breach is going on.
Forensic analysis and inspection are on its discourse to map the level of breach. Further in the statement, the service system providing company of Air India, “SITA” said that there has been no intrusion in the system after February 20, 2021. On the other hand, air India has informed the other airline companies about the breach of data and inform them to be cautious of malicious intrusion in their system. The Airline company Informed its customers through several statements about the massive breach of data. Air India said to its customers to check their details in their credentials and credit cards. The company is taking further actions to secure the compromised data and working with other agencies to find out loopholes in the system. The company also said that, if any further update came regarding the breach in personal data, It will inform its customers as soon as possible.
For further protection of data, the company has told that it has secured vulnerable servers. The company has infused specialists and to manifest data security and sort out compromised loopholes. This is the era of data and the internet. Our data is vulnerable on servers. Last year big companies like Facebook were in the limelight owing to the personal data flow of its users to third parties. A lot of questions arise here. Is our data safe in the hand of other companies? Data is not a minuscule thing. It has the power to make a government in a country as well as it can be the reason for the fall of a government in a country. A lot of scholars from around the world believe that the next world war will happen because of data.
Data and information of a population or a large number of people can help in the understanding and thought process of that group of people. A data breach is not only about the vulnerability of bank details or credit cards. It can be more than that. Those who hold the data of a group of people, that entity or individual holds the power to manipulate the whole group accordingly. So, better be cautious and alert while sharing any kind of information on the internet. To secure data and private information, one must learn and adapt to the latest security enhancements. As there are vulnerabilities and data are being compromised, precaution and caution are the ways to secure one’s data.