Cathay Pacific says world’s biggest airline data hack went on for months

Cathay Pacific, which is under fire for the world’s biggest airline data breach, said the sophisticated attacks lasted months as it took steps to shield its exposed computer network. The attacks were most intense March through May and continued, Asia’s biggest airline said Monday in a written submission to Hong Kong’s legislature before a panel hearing this week. Although the number of successful attacks diminished, concerns remain “new attacks could be mounted,” the city-based airline said, apologizing to passengers for the incident. “Cathay is cognizant that changes in the cybersecurity threat landscape continue to evolve at pace as the sophistication of the attackers improves,” it said. “Our plans, which include growing our team of IT security specialists, will necessarily evolve in response to this challenging environment.” Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog said last week that it was investigating the breach the carrier disclosed seven months after detection. While the attack exposed personal information of 9.4m passengers, including passport details, addresses and emails, Cathay Pacific said flight safety wasn’t compromised and there was no evidence the data was misused. The carrier said it has spent more than HK$1b (US$128m) on its IT infrastructure and security over the past three years. <br/>