Unauthorised access behind AirAsia data leak, says Fahmi

 

Fahmi Fadzil said further investigations are continuing to identify source of intrusion. (Air Asia pic)

PETALING JAYA: Preliminary investigations into the AirAsia passenger data leak show that it was due to unauthorised access which caused a ransomware attack, says communications and digital minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said further investigations are continuing to identify the source of intrusion and overall impact of the incident.

Last month, it was reported that the personal data of five million passengers and all employees of AirAsia had been compromised by hacker group Daixin Team, with the group claiming responsibility for the ransomware attack that allegedly hit the airline on Nov 11 and 12.

According to DataBreaches.com – a website specialising in reporting data breaches worldwide – the hackers provided them with two files containing samples of the sensitive information belonging to both passengers and the airline’s staff, which Daixin Team claims to have also given to AirAsia.

DataBreaches.com – citing the Daixin Team’s spokesman – wrote in their report that AirAsia responded to the attack and engaged with the hacker group via chat, and after receiving a sample of the data did not attempt to negotiate the ransom amount any further, which suggests the airline did not intend to pay the attackers any amount.

No confirmation on the sum demanded by the ransomware group or whether AirAsia paid a ransom in exchange for a decryption key and the deletion of the stolen data has thus far been reported. - FMT