Air India Confirms Data of 4.5M Travelers Compromised

Air India has confirmed attackers accessed data belonging to 4.5 million global passengers following a breach of aviation IT provider SITA's Passenger Service System in early March.

SITA PSS stores and processes personal data of Air India's passengers. In a statement, the airline reports this breach involved personal data registered between Aug. 26, 2011, and Feb. 3, 2021.

The affected details include name, birthdate, contact information, passport details, ticket information, Star Alliance and Air India frequent flyer data, and credit card data. However, the airline says CVV/CVC numbers were not affected because the data processor does not handle them.

It also reports password data was not affected but is encouraging passengers to change their passwords as a precaution.

Air India learned of the attack on Feb. 25, 2021, and reports it has since launched an investigation, secured compromised servers, notified credit card issuers, reset the passwords of its Air India frequent flyer program, and consulted external security specialists. It learned the details of affected passengers on March 25 and April 5, 2021.

Read Air India's full statement here.