Cathay’s Share Sinks to 9-Year Low after Hackers Breach 9.4 Million of Passengers Data
The announcement of the breach has been made on late Wednesday that Cathay Pacific Airways’ network has been hacked, sending its share to reach a nine-year low.
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.’s shares faced a sudden selloff and plunged almost 7% on Thursday, October 25, 2018 to its nine-year low after 9.4 million passengers data had been accessed without authorization.
The airline made a report on late Wednesday about the hack. In addition to 860,000 passport numbers and about 245,000 Hong Kong identity card numbers, the hackers accessed 403 expired credit card numbers and 27 credit card numbers with no card verification value (CVV).
To everyone’s surprise, Cathay said that it noticed suspicious activities on its network back in March 2018, and the investigation confirmed that certain passengers personal data had been accessed by these hackers.
Questions were raised on why it took so long before the airline could make the announcement regarding the hack, while further information and explanation were demanded from the public, especially investors.
However, Cathay asserted that the Hong Kong Police had been notified about the breach and that there was no evidence that any personal information had been misused.
Cathay Pacific has not been performing quite well lately. In August, the airline reported a narrower half-year loss on a strong rise in airfares and cargo rates and flagged expectations for a better second half despite economic headwinds from mounting U.S.-China trade tensions.
