British Airways Data Breach – A Cautionary Tale In Cybersecurity & Supply Chain Risk
In June 2018, British Airways (BA) suffered a major data breach due to a chain of avoidable security missteps—ultimately compromising the personal and financial data of over 400,000 customers.
Initial Compromise
The breach began when an attacker obtained credentials from a Swissport employee—a third-party contractor with access to BA systems. The account lacked basic security protections:
- No Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
- No conditional access controls
This granted the attacker entry to BA's virtual desktop infrastructure, which was assumed to be a low-risk, isolated environment.
Critical Oversight
On one of the virtual servers, the attacker discovered an administrative password stored in a plain text file. With that, they escalated their privileges and bypassed the sandbox, gaining access to BA's core internal systems.
Unsecured Payment Data
Inside BA’s network, the attacker found a development tool meant to test a new checkout system.
This tool was:
- Still active after its testing phase
- Logging full payment card details (including CVVs)
- Storing this information in unencrypted, plain text format
These logs had been accumulating unnoticed for three years. Over 100,000 card records were copied by the attacker.
Further Exploitation
The attacker then identified an outdated JavaScript library on BA's website, originating from 2012. Exploiting its known vulnerability, they injected malicious code into the payment process.
As a result, customer data was siphoned off in real time during legitimate purchases, routed through a spoofed domain controlled by the attacker.
Fallout
The breach persisted for weeks before detection. Its impact included:
- Over 400,000 customer records compromised
- A £20 million fine issued by the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
- The largest collective legal action in UK data breach history
Key Lessons for Organisations
- Third-Party Risk is Real!
- Regularly audit third-party access
- Define and enforce strict security standards
- Use tools like security scorecards to assess vendor posture
- Small Mistakes Add Up
- Regular penetration testing
- Prompt patch management
- Ongoing security protocol reviews
- Strong password policies
- Scheduled security audits
The entry point was a contractor, not a direct employee. Every vendor, contractor, or third-party connection increases the attack surface. Organisations must:
Basic oversights—such as unsecured credentials, outdated software, or disabled security features—can collectively lead to massive breaches. Preventative practices should include:
This incident highlights the importance of treating cybersecurity as an organisational priority. A lapse anywhere in the supply chain or internal processes can expose an entire business—and its customers—to significant risk. Proactive measures are crucial – and it’s not about blowing the budget, it’s about focusing on the small things and getting them right. It’s also about paying attention to who has access to your systems.