Nobody would’ve anticipated that British Airways would receive a fine valued at £20 Million during the coronavirus pandemic. This aviation firm has lost extensive profits throughout the epidemic, with losses entering volumes of bankruptcy. The epidemic was accounted for by the Information Commissioner’s Office when executing a fine towards British Airways. That £20 Million fine follows after the ICO located a data breach on servers maintained by British Airways. This data breach saw financial & personal information of 400+ thousand customers stolen.

The Information Commissioner’s Office clarified that financial punishments towards British Airways would’ve evoked £183 to £200 Million before the coronavirus pandemic. However, economic impacts associated with the pandemic have saved this airline financial burdens that would have been hard to overcome. It should be noted that for the Information Commissioner’s Office, the £20 Million fine issued is their most extensive to date. British Airways, in one instance, has been financially relieved from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Loss of consumer data wasn’t exclusively faulted of British Airways. Groups of international hackers-imposed dozens of attacks on BA Servers, then modifying what information they could & harvest customer details before being kicked-off by backup protocols. Outdated protocols meant that international hackers had prolonged periods to siphon information, which was known to British Airway’s Cybersecurity Research. It’d take 60-Days for that individual to inform executives that breaches had occurred, providing proof to an onslaught of complaints from targeted customers.

Cybersecurity Upgrades Required

Investigations into British Airways didn’t implicate the aviation corporation for being at-fault. The International Commissioner’s Office was investigating the security measures & multi-factor authentication enabled in the BA Severs. What was found by investigators was deemed unsatisfactory, meaning British Airways played a critical role in the data breach. Vital investments into server cybersecurity would’ve enabled more excellent protection for customer data.

It’s consistently been an issue that largescale corporations don’t regularly update their cybersecurity protocols. It’s not understood that regular enhancements are required to guarantee hackers don’t locate loopholes. Employing a cybersecurity firm for one project isn’t enough. Routine maintenance must also be accounted for when electing new protocols to servers. British Airways is expected to payout their £20 Million fine to the Information Commission’s Office by October 31st.