“The previously unreported United breach raises the possibility that the hackers now have data on the movements of millions of Americans, adding airlines to a growing list of strategic U.S. industries and institutions that have been compromised”. The same sources say that the hackers are the same China-backed group that pulled off the earlier breaches.
Advertisement
The current scenario of the fight between the hackers and the companies shows that the latter is losing and needs to rethink its strategies to prevent data theft and other vulnerabilities.
The plunder from this attack reportedly includes information on passengers, origins and destinations.
Bloomberg Business reported that United noticed an invasion of its computer systems between May and early June, according to individuals familiar with the investigation, three of whom alleged that investigators have connected the breach to the cyber attacks on OPM and health insurer Anthem Inc.
United is one of the biggest government contractors, suggesting that the hackers may now be able to piece together the travel patterns of some government and military officials.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, in response to the reports about United Airlines’ network security breach, a company spokesman has asserted that the private information of United Airlines customers is safe. The Chinese government and its embassy in the U.S. have denied involvement in the cyberattacks, saying it does not support the actions of the criminals.
