The recent data breach at Air France and KLM’s frequent flyer program, Flying Blue, is one in a recent spate of data breaches across frequent flyer clubs. There is an increasing concern amongst members of programs as personal details, including names and email addresses, are exposed to malicious actors and other third parties. With a sharp rise in data breaches, both airlines and their customers are becoming more aware of the need for strict security measures like API and business logic security to protect their private information, starting with the precise observability of their entire API mesh.
Who is Flying Blue?
Flying Blue is an award winning frequent flyer program owned by Air France and KLM. It allows flyers to earn and redeem miles on flights with Air France, KLM, and other partner airlines, as well as benefit from services like lounge access and travel upgrades.
What exactly happened in the Flying Blue data breach?
As this story is still in it’s unravel stage, so far we know that Flying Blue customers started receiving email notifications from the company stating “Our security operations teams have detected suspicious behavior by an unauthorized entity in relation to your account. We have immediately implemented corrective action to prevent further exposure of your data” continuing that the following data might have been compromised:
- First and/or Last Name
- Flying Blue level and number
- Miles Balance
- Phone Number
- Email acccount
- Latest Transactions
But stated that no Credit card information has been leaked.
Is it confirmed?
At the time of writing these lines, there isn’t a confirmation from the company about this incident, that said screenshot of the email was published by Jeroen Burgerhout in his twitter account and also a similar twit was made by Deniride.
Apart from the above, on KLM’s web site there is a strange peek at an online security-related job opening, as seen in the below image:
In 2021 there we’re a few airline related data breaches ranging from Oneworld and Star Alliance to air transport data giant SITA.
This is an ongoing story, and currently we are waiting for official statements to be made by Flying Blue and or Air France and KLM.
In conclusion
The steep growth in airline data breach incidents highlights the need for organizations to take proactive measures to protect themselves from API and business logic attacks. Technologies such as identity and access management, endpoint protection, and encryption can help organizations secure their systems and protect their customers’ data. Additionally, organizations should ensure that the APIs and business logic used by their systems are regularly tested for vulnerabilities and any potential security issues. By taking these steps, organizations can reduce the risk of a data breach and protect their customers from harm.
