Man charged with United website hack, stealing travel vouchers
Monday, 12 May, 2016
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A man has been charged with hacking United Airlines website and stealing travel vouchers worth nearly $60,000.
Ammon Cunningham of Saratoga Springs managed to hack into United.com and gain PIN codes for electronic travel certificates (ETC).
Cunningham, who is also known as Jacob Colvin, redeemed them for flights himself or sold them through sites like Craigslist.
A security consultant at United tracked down Cunningham through his IP address in Salt Lake City after the discovery that several ETCs were obtained by a single user, according to a probable cause statement filed.
United Airlines said they discovered 120 stolen ETCs were sold on to other people, resulting in a loss of $58,000 to the carrier.
A company report said these customers were unaware the vouchers were stolen.
Cunningham has been charged with computer crimes, theft and communications fraud for offences which took place between July and September 2012.
He even reportedly tried to extort money out of the airline.
Cunningham contacted United Airlines in 2012 saying he had discovered ‘a massive hole’ in United Airlines’ website security and would only pass on details after receiving $10,000 and first class airfare or round the world tickets for himself and his family.
United does now have a ‘bug bounty’ which rewards ‘friendly hackers’ with up to one million frequent flyer points for those who discover security vulnerabilities in its online or mobile apps.
TravelMole Editorial Team
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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