Flight Centre admits to passport data breach
Flight Centre has blamed ‘human error’ for a data security lapse which allowed customers’ passport information to be seen by external contractors.
A Flight Centre spokesman said the data was ‘mistakenly made accessible to a group developing business products for the company’ but did not disclose what the ‘passport details’ contained.
It was down to ‘human error, not by a system or security failure.’
"In essence, personal information relating to some leisure customers in Australia was accidentally made available to a small number of potential third party suppliers for a short period of time," the spokesman said.
"When we became aware of the issue, we acted quickly and contained the information. We also sought and received assurances from the suppliers that they did not retain copies."
All affected customers were notified, Flight Centre said.
The company believes the risk of somebody using the information for fraudulent means is ‘relatively low.’
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the information released in error was ‘insufficient’ for somebody to steal an identity or obtain a new passport in that name.
Still, DFAT said affected passport holders may cancel and renew their passport if they wish to do so.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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