Data breach at Canadian airline WestJet affects 1.2M passengers

WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline, has confirmed a significant data breach that has compromised the personal information of approximately 1.2 million passengers. This revelation came to light through a filing with the attorney general of Maine, which also noted that 240 residents from the state were among those affected. The information that may have been stolen includes sensitive details such as passenger names, dates of birth, postal addresses, and travel documentation, which encompasses passports and government-issued IDs. Additionally, the breach may have exposed records related to passenger requests and complaints, as well as customer loyalty program data, including points balances. The airline first reported the security incident in June after uncovering unauthorized access to its systems, with hackers successfully extracting data from its network. Despite attempts to reach out for further information, WestJet spokesperson Jennifer Booth did not respond to inquiries from TechCrunch regarding the breach's specifics. Reports suggest that the breach is linked to a hacking collective known as Scattered Spider, a group characterized by its financially driven motives, primarily composed of English-speaking young adults. This group has gained notoriety for deceiving IT help desks into providing access to corporate networks. Earlier in the year, both the FBI and various cybersecurity experts issued warnings about this group targeting the transportation and aviation sectors. Notably, Australian airline Qantas has also reported a breach attributed to the same hackers, which resulted in the compromise of more than 6 million customers' personal information.