PAL reports 'cybersecurity incident' in Mabuhay Miles loyalty program

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines has informed members of its “Mabuhay Miles” loyalty program of a cybersecurity incident, which compromised their personal data.

In a notice to its Mabuhay Miles members, PAL said that Accelya, its third party IT service provider for its loyalty program, has informed the carrier of a “cybersecurity incident affecting their systems.”

“This incident affected several of Accelya’s global airline customers,” the airline said.

Specifically for PAL, it said that “the Accelya cybersecurity incident impacted personal information of some of our Mabuhay Miles members…”

The impacted personal data were limited to members’ name, date of birth, nationality, gender, join date, tier level, and points balance, the flag carrier said.

The incident was already reported to the National Privacy Commission on September 8, 2022, according to PAL.

In a Viber group message to reporters, the Privacy Commission confirmed that the agency received a breach notification from PAL on September 8, 2022.

Nonetheless, PAL said that Accelya said that the cybersecurity incident did not involve members’ passwords, flight itineraries, passport numbers, ticket numbers, contact details, or credit card information.

The airline said that none of the loyalty program’s members’ contact details nor financial information were included.

Members were advised to change their “Mabuhay Miles” account password, change it regularly, and use a strong password.

“Accelya has assured us that immediate and necessary actions were undertaken in order to contain the incident. In fact, Accelya confirmed that it has stopped the spread of the malware and that further security measures will be put in place to prevent a similar incident from happening in their systems,” PAL said.

The flag carrier noted that the incident “had no effect on PAL’s internal IT system.”

“We value and take utmost importance in protecting your personal information and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused,” PAL said. —LBG/KG, GMA News