Data is the new oil, they say. Throughout the world, there is competition for amassing all possible data. This data can be used for our own purpose or can be sold at some handsome cost to interested parties. So, the price of data in the market is pretty high. So when you can’t collect/generate the data on your own, you might tend to use some illegal means. You might want to launch a cyber-attack on the data center of various organizations.
The Cyber-attack
That’s what exactly happened with AIR India’s Passenger Service System Provider, SITA. The Switzerland-based company was attacked by cyber hackers in February and lost valuable data of some 45 lakh passengers. The breach involved all the data which was registered with the organization between August 26, 2011, and February 20, 2021. The data snatched away by the attackers included name, date of birth, contact information, passport information, ticket information, Star Alliance and Air India frequent flyer data (but no passwords data were affected) as well as credit cards data.
When Air India got to know about this data breach, like a good old organization it is, they informed about the attack and consequent data breach to its customers. Little they knew that they will be slapped with a lawsuit of 30 lakh.
The Lawsuit.
The lawsuit of 30 Lakh is filed by Delhi based journalist, who in a notice said, ‘The breach is a violation of my right to be forgotten and informational autonomy’. She also accused Air India of ‘knowingly, intentionally and deliberately’ leaking the data of passengers.
The journalist is being represented by advocate Ashwini Kumar Dubey. The notice also read, “The noticee, Air India, is guilty of leaking the sensitive information and personal data of my client. She was shocked and alarmed to learn about the recent security lapse by the noticee, making my client’s data open to exploitation,”
Now, how Air India responds to the notice, will surely have an impact on how these kinds of cases will be dealt in the future.
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