British Airways settled a data breach class action lawsuit this week resulting from a 2018 data breach that affected thousands of its customers.

In 2018, the personal data of approximately 420,000 customers and staff was leaked, including names, addresses, and bank account information. When U.K. regulators investigated this incident in 2018, it was reported that British Airways had been saving card payment details in plain text since 2015 and had not implemented multi-factor authentication in its organization.

The suit was filed under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which increased the potential penalties for failing to protect consumers’ personal information.

The sum of the settlement was not disclosed.

Notably, the pandemic has hit the airline hard and in October 2020, the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office reduced the fine it had imposed for the data breach from $254 million to about $27 million as a result of the financial hardship.

Photo of Kathryn Rattigan Kathryn Rattigan

Kathryn Rattigan is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Data Privacy+ Cybersecurity Team. She concentrates her practice on privacy and security compliance under both state and federal regulations and advising clients on website and mobile app privacy and security…

Kathryn Rattigan is a member of the Business Litigation Group and the Data Privacy+ Cybersecurity Team. She concentrates her practice on privacy and security compliance under both state and federal regulations and advising clients on website and mobile app privacy and security compliance. Kathryn helps clients review, revise and implement necessary policies and procedures under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). She also provides clients with the information needed to effectively and efficiently handle potential and confirmed data breaches while providing insight into federal regulations and requirements for notification and an assessment under state breach notification laws. Prior to joining the firm, Kathryn was an associate at Nixon Peabody. She earned her J.D., cum laude, from Roger Williams University School of Law and her B.A., magna cum laude, from Stonehill College. She is admitted to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Read her full rc.com bio here.