Stansted owner Manchester Airports Group suffers cyber hack with nearly 9m customers' data accessed

Manchester Airport Group, the owner of London Stansted Airport, has fallen victim to a cyber attack that resulted in the theft of millions of customers' personal data. The attacker gained unauthorized access to the systems used by the company, leading to the theft of email addresses, phone numbers, vehicle registrations, and postcodes of around 8.7 million individuals.

MAG stated that they immediately contained the risk and are collaborating with specialized advisors to safeguard their customers and systems. However, they clarified that the hackers did not obtain customers' bank or payment information. Stansted Airport alerted its customers via email, urging them to remain vigilant against unexpected communications requesting payment or banking information. The company apologized for any inconvenience or concern caused by the incident.

MAG discovered the cyber attack on Tuesday and took measures to prevent further unauthorized access. The hackers responsible have been identified, and the appropriate authorities have been notified. Following a survey conducted earlier this year, it was revealed that large UK businesses incurred an estimated £3.7 billion in legal fees due to shareholder claims related to cyber attacks in the previous year.

Additionally, cyber attacks caused these firms to lose an estimated £11.7 billion in total, with litigation accounting for £5.4 billion in direct losses from disrupted trading. Other expenses included lost assets amounting to £1.3 billion, regulatory fines totaling £108 million, and reputational damage costing £573 million. Furthermore, nearly £400 million in revenue was lost for customers who canceled contracts, reduced spending, or switched to alternative suppliers following the cyber incidents.