Experts Reacted On News: British Airways Fined £20m For Data Breach

Information Security Buzz
Tuesday, October 20, 2020

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British Airways has been fined £20m for failing to protect the personal and financial details of more than 400,000 customers, according to Business Live. This follows an investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (IC)) after the airline was the subject to a cyber-attack, which it did not detect for more than two months, in 2018.

EXPERTS COMMENTS

Ilia Kolochenko, CEO, ImmuniWeb

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. BA will likely shift the £20 million cost to passengers and employees, as most other companies would probably do. During the pandemic, exemplary penalties aimed to strongly deter others, likely mean more layoffs and less quality of service. While cybersecurity budgets will probably remain intact or even continue their decline. Moreover, in large organizations, even £20 million is just a fraction of the overall security budget thus it may simply mean that paying a “record” penalty is cheaper than investing into a robust and holistic cybersecurity program.

To make our digital lives safe and secure, governments should also consider supporting cybersecurity efforts of companies and organizations. This includes efficient and effective cybercrime investigation units, capable of apprehending hackers, send them to jail and recover at least a part of the stolen loot or disgorge their illicit profits. With the mushrooming data protection laws and regulations, from overhyped GDPR to relatively young CCPA, harsh penalties against companies that create jobs and pay taxes - are counterproductive when the state is toothless against cyber gangs that operate in impunity. Read Full Article