British Airways fined £20m over data hack

British Airways has been fined £20 million over a 2018 data hack, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has announced.

Investigators found the airline should have identified the security weaknesses which enabled the attack to take place.

The carrier failed to protect the personal and financial details of more than 400,000 customers, the ICO said.

It did not detect the hack for more than two months.

Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham said: “People entrusted their personal details to BA, and BA failed to take adequate measures to keep those details secure.

“Their failure to act was unacceptable and affected hundreds of thousands of people, which may have caused some anxiety and distress as a result.

“That’s why we have issued BA with a £20 million fine – our biggest to date.

“When organisations take poor decisions around people’s personal data, that can have a real impact on people’s lives.

“The law now gives us the tools to encourage businesses to make better decisions about data, including investing in up-to-date security.”