Air India Sued Over Data Breach Of 45 Lakh Passengers

New Delhi: An Air India passenger has sued Air India, seeking damages for breach of personal data of 4.5 million passengers, including her and her husband’s.

Delhi-based journalist Ritika Handoo has sought damages of Rs 30 lakh from the national airline, stating in the legal notice that the breach of data was a violation of her “right to be forgotten and informational autonomy.”

She accused Air India of “knowingly, intentionally and deliberately leaking the personal data and for breach of sensitive information.”

Handoo was informed of the leak by Air India on June 1 after it emerged that its passenger service system provider fell prey to a cyberattack in February.

The breach reportedly affected around 45 lakh customers registered with the airline between August 26, 2011, and February 3, 2021, Air India said.

It was a “highly sophisticated” attack which targeted SITA, the passenger processing system that caters to Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Malaysia Airlines and United Airlines among others.

Air India had acknowledged the breach in March, without revealing further details.