Personal data leaked at company operating Korean Air’s reservation and ticketing system; extent of impact under investigation

[Financial News] A personal data breach reportedly occurred at an outside company that operates Korean Air’s reservation and ticketing system. Reservation numbers of Korean Air customers have been confirmed to be among the information leaked, but the exact scale of the impact and the types of information exposed have yet to be determined.
According to the airline industry on the 23rd, Korean Air was notified on the night of the 20th by global aviation information technology (IT) company Amadeus IT Group (Amadeus) of signs of a personal data breach. Amadeus is a global IT company that provides reservation and ticketing software to airlines, travel agencies, hotels and others.
The incident is believed to have resulted from unauthorized access using login credentials for an account on Amadeus’s system. The breach is estimated to have occurred sometime between August 2023 and last September, but the exact timing and circumstances are still under investigation.
So far, reservation numbers belonging to Korean Air customers have been confirmed to be among the personal information leaked. However, the total number of people affected and the specific types of personal information involved have yet to be confirmed. Amadeus is investigating the circumstances of the incident and the extent of the impact.
Korean Air said it took the necessary security measures immediately after being notified of the incident, and that it had found no signs that its own systems or databases (DB) had been directly compromised.
Korean Air sent customers an email that day informing them of the personal data breach and apologizing. It said it would provide further details if specific information about the breach is confirmed in the ongoing investigation.
It also urged customers not to open URLs or attachments from unclear sources and to be wary of suspicious communications asking them to enter personal information.
Amadeus is also reportedly taking follow-up measures, including blocking unauthorized access and monitoring the dark web.
Korean Air said it takes the matter seriously and will make every effort to prevent further harm and a recurrence. It also plans to ask Amadeus to strengthen security and draw up measures to prevent a recurrence, and to review practices across all companies entrusted with processing personal information.



[email protected] Jung Won-il Reporter