More than 8,000 applicants who aspired to become pilots at American Airlines and Southwest Airlines fell victim to a data breach. Hackers managed to infiltrate Pilot Credentials, a recruitment firm based in Austin, Texas, on April 30th, and the airlines were informed about the breach on May 3rd. Last week, the affected job seekers were finally notified of the incident.
The airlines were obliged to report the breach to regulators in Maine. The letters revealed that the hackers accessed a database containing the names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, passport numbers, and driver’s and pilot-license numbers of individuals applying for pilot and cadet positions. In total, 5,745 American Airlines applicants and 3,009 Southwest Airlines applicants were affected by the breach.
American Airlines stated that there is no evidence to suggest that the stolen information has been used for fraudulent purposes or identity theft. As a precautionary measure, the airline is offering two years of identity theft protection coverage to each affected applicant.
Both American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have decided to handle their recruitment processes internally through their own websites following the breach, rather than relying on external companies like Pilot Credentials. The airlines are currently collaborating with law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident.
Thank you for choosing CBS NEWS.
Create a free account or log in
for access to additional features.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
