Cyberattacks result in massive data leaks at UK airports and Australian firm

Hackers have released the personal data of nearly nine million people following a breach of three United Kingdom airports. The Manchester Airports Group (MAG) reported that criminals attempted to extort the company for an undisclosed ransom but were unsuccessful. The stolen information, which includes contact details, vehicle registrations, postcodes, and travel history, was obtained from databases containing Wi-Fi login and car parking details for Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands airports.

Cybersecurity experts have warned that the leaked data, which includes both historical and planned future travel, increases the risk of secondary scams and targeted attacks against individuals. MAG stated that it is working with authorities and that passenger physical safety remains uncompromised.

In a separate incident, the Australian building services company Contact Group confirmed a breach of its IT environment. A ransomware group claimed to have downloaded three terabytes of data, including Tasmanian driver's licenses and addresses. Contact Group is working with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and external cybersecurity specialists to investigate the impact.