Cathay Pacific has been found to have not followed data protection principles in relation to the security of passengers’ personal data, Hong Kong’s privacy watchdog said in a report published on Thursday. Last October Cathay said data on about 9.4m of its passengers had been accessed without authorization, adding that it had discovered suspicious activity on its network in March 2018 and that investigations in early May last year had confirmed that certain personal data had been accessed. The breach compromised 860,000 passport numbers and about 245,000 Hong Kong identity card numbers, Cathay had reported. Cathay Pacific shares slumped to nine-year lows after the October announcement. In Thursday’s report the commissioner for personal data, Stephen Kai-yi Wong, criticized the airline for “lax” data governance, pointing at its failure to identify common vulnerabilities and put in place measures to plug them. “Cathay adopted a lax attitude towards data governance, which fell short of the expectation of its affected passengers and the regulator,” he said, adding that the airline had retained Hong Kong identity card numbers of affected passengers longer than necessary. A statement from the airline said it was assessing the commissioner’s report, which ordered Cathay to appoint an independent data security expert to overhaul its personal data storage systems and chalk out a clear data-retention policy among other measures.<br/>
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International Airlines Group (IAG) is inviting startups to demonstrate how their products and innovations can transform the travel industry during a 10-week accelerator program. IAG will ask about 40 companies to pitch their concepts for the latest round of the group’s Hangar 51 innovation program. Successful applicants will “be embedded in the heart of the business, working side by side with an international team of mentors and experts from across the group,” IAG said, adding that Hangar 51 has seen applications from more than 1,200 startups worldwide since its 2016 launch. The selected startups will work with teams at the group’s IAG Cargo, Iberia and Vueling airlines. Based in Spain for the second time, the program will allow the companies to develop and test their products on a global scale, IAG said. Applicants have until Aug. 2 to submit their proposals in the categories of airport operations and logistics, including smart technologies and robotics; the future of customer interaction, including wearable devices and artificial intelligence; disruption management; future cargo logistics; sustainability; new products and services, including innovative payment methods; and a wildcard category that can encompass any disruptive idea that has the potential to reshape the travel industry. At the end of the 10-week period, the startups will demonstrate their innovations to group senior managers. <br/>