British Airways risks stealing personal data record fine: Alex Cruz, the CEO of British Airways, said he was "surprised and disappointed". The British company could pay a heavy fine following a hacking of data which it was victim last September. 500,000 customers were affected by the attack. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the British body for the protection of personal data, proposed on Monday to inflict on the British group International Airlines Group (IAG) a penalty representing 1.5% of the turnover in 2017 of its British Airways because of the security measures deemed insufficient.

The parent company of British Airways faces a record fine of 183 million pounds (202 million euros). The airline has announced its intention to appeal this decision based on the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force last year. The RGPD provides for fines of up to 4% of the total turnover of a company found guilty of violating this text.

British Airways risks stealing personal data record fine

Bank details recovered fraudulently

The attack on the British Airways website redirected traffic to a fraudulent site where customer information, such as login credentials, payment card and booking data, as well as names and addresses, was to be collected, said the ICO. "Users' personal data is just personal," said ICO Commissioner Elizabeth Denham. "When an organization fails to protect them from loss, damage or theft, it's more than a nuisance." That's why the law states clear that we must take care of the personal data that are entrusted, "she added.

"British Airways reacted quickly to a criminal act aimed at stealing customer data," said British Airways CEO Alex Cruz, adding that his company had found no evidence of fraud or fraudulent activity on accounts related to the flight. IAG Managing Director Willie Walsh said British Airways would take steps with the ICO regarding this penalty. "We intend to take all appropriate measures to vigorously defend the position of the airline, including appealing the decision if necessary," he said.

For Gerald Khoo, an analyst at Liberum, if IAG has sufficient cash to pay this fine, the penalty "remains important". The IAG share, which lost nearly 2% after this announcement in the first exchanges in London, was down 0.85% to 12:25.