SITA, a global IT provider for the aviation industry, have confirmed that they suffered a passenger data breach following a cyber-attack on the company’s servers.
The company have claimed that customers and organisations that use the SITA Passenger Service System (US) Inc. (SITA PSS) – which operates passenger processing systems for airlines – were contacted from February 24 2021 after the severity of the incident was confirmed.
In an official statement published to the SITA website, the company claimed: “We recognise that the COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about security threats, and, at the same time, cyber-criminals have become more sophisticated and active.
“This was a highly sophisticated attack.
“SITA acted swiftly and initiated targeted containment measures. The matter remains under continued investigation by SITA’s Security Incident Response Team with the support of leading external experts in cyber-security.”
SITA added that airline customers with Data Subject Access Requests (that relate to the handling of personal data) must make their requests directly to airlines in accordance with GDPR and data protection legislation.
To read the official press release, visit: https://www.sita.aero/pressroom/news-releases/