Two things you need to do post the British Airways Data Breach

With the British Airways site data breach over 15 days (22:58 BST August 21 2018 until 21:45 BST September 5 2018 inclusive) – there are two things you need to do – or should be at least considering doing over next few days

1) Change your password to the BA site/App. Yes, it’s annoying as hell – but change your British Airways site password… especially if you use the same password on other sites. And whilst you’re at it, it could be time to review your passwords all again.

That’s the joy of data breaches and shared passwords…

2) Check your credit cards/bank accounts – It’s time to log on and check your transactions for anything that is out of the ordinary. Whilst some banks are monitoring, you’ll need to keep an eye out on odd transactions yourself.

American Express has issued the following advice:

Hi all. We have been made aware of a suspected data breach on the British Airways website. If your call is in relation to this, please be assured we are monitoring the situation closely. We are not aware of further details beyond what has been provided publicly at this time…

— Ask Amex UK (@AskAmexUK) September 7, 2018

… As a reminder, you are not liable for fraudulent charges and we closely monitor all accounts for fraud on an ongoing basis. If we see unusual activity we will take protective action which may include contacting you. You do not need to take any further action at this time.

— Ask Amex UK (@AskAmexUK) September 7, 2018

The bank I deal with has stated the following:

We are aware of a data breach at British Airways resulting in customers’ card details being compromised, we continually monitor customer accounts for any suspicious transactions to protect you from fraud. 1/2

— smile UK (@bankwithsmile) September 7, 2018

Customers should always remain vigilant to phone calls or emails requesting their personal or security information and remember we will never contact you to ask you to confirm your full security details. 2/2

— smile UK (@bankwithsmile) September 7, 2018

As usual, check with your bank/issuer for advice. If you’re really unhappy, this will be as good as any time to get a new card issued.

What’s been stolen?

According to Alex Cruise in aBBC interview

• Name
• Email Address
• Postal address
• Credit card information (number, expiry date and CVV code)

What is BA doing?

For customers who are affected, the airline has stated

Every customer affected will be fully reimbursed and we will pay for a credit checking service. We take the protection of our customers’ data seriously, and are very sorry for the concern that this criminal activity has caused. We will continue to keep our customers updated with the very latest information. We will be contacting customers and will manage any claims on an individual basis.

You’ll need to keep up to date with the FAQ’s at https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/incident/data-theft/latest-information

Let’s not beat about the bush – this is a serious incident. I’ll continue monitoring changes… but for now – you’re going to need to be careful out there….

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