Eurostar hack attack: customers forced to reset password

The International railway service company, Eurostar, has recently experienced a potential hack attack where some customer accounts may have been compromised.

Eurostar has sent out an email to customers that logged in between the 15th and 19th of October suggesting that their account may have been affected and recommending them to reset their password.

Some customers have reported that they were automatically been locked out of their account and were forced to reset their password. Eurostar has responded to a recent tweet by saying that this is due to website maintenance. Surely the maintenance is a result of the hack attempt?

Hi. Recently we have performed maintenance on the Eurostar website and have requested that our customers reset their passwords. Sorry for any inconvenience.

— Eurostar (@Eurostar) October 23, 2018

What customer data was compromised during the hack?

We deliberately never store any bank card information, so there is no possibility of compromise to credit card or payment details.

Eurostar confirmed that it doesn’t store any bank card details, so if any accounts were accessed, hackers could have only accessed names and addresses. However, Eurostar has not clarified whether any hack attempts were successful.

There was also no statement from Eurostar in regards to the source of the hack leaving customers in the dark. The railway company mentioned that it has informed the information Commissioner’s Office about the incident.

The trend continues?

Recently, several airlines have also reported hack incidents related to user accounts. Cathay Pacific, British Airways and Air Canada have all been affected by a hack attempt where customer data was accessed. British Airways had it worst as it confirmed that some payment information was compromised.

At this point it’s not clear whether all these attacks are linked but it’s clear that there is a rising trend of hackers targeting airline companies.