BA Hack Leaves Airline Open to Fines Under Tough Data Rules
- U.K. carrier revealed customer data from web was compromised
- EU regulation stipulates that companies need to protect data
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British Airways may become the first high-profile company to run afoul of Europe’s far-reaching data privacy rules -- and face potentially hefty fines -- after a computer hack compromised credit card data from some 380,000 customers.
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which took effect in May, mandates that companies have to take technical precautions such as encryption to ensure client data is protected. It also states that firms must notify authorities about breaches within 72 hours after learning about them.