BA settles class action over 2018 data breach

BA settled a UK class-action lawsuit involving hundreds of thousands of customers caught up in a 2018 data breach. The settlement, for an undisclosed sum, followed the leak of the personal data of 420,000 customers and staff, including bank details, contact information and addresses. The deal between IAG-owned BA and law firm PGMBM doesn’t include any admission of liability by the airline. “The pace at which we have been able to resolve this process with British Airways has been particularly encouraging and demonstrates how seriously the legal system is taking mass data incidents,” said Harris Pogust, chairman of PGMBM, said. In October, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office reduced the airline’s fine for the breach from GBP183m to GBP20m in the wake of the pandemic’s financial impact. The case was filed under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which ramped up potential fines for firms failing to protect consumers’ control of their personal data. <br/>