What’s happened?
British Airways is facing a record fine of £183 million, after its systems were breached by hackers last year and the personal and payment card information of around 500,000 customers were stolen.
183 million quid!? That sounds huge!
Yes, it’s the biggest fine ever handed out by the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
In comparison, the ICO smacked Facebook’s wrist with a £500,000 fine over the Cambridge Analytica scandal (which amounts to less than ten minutes’ worth of revenue for the social networking giant.)
Why is British Airways being fined so heavily in comparison?
Well, it’s important to know that British Airways hasn’t been fined yet. The ICO has only published its notice of intention for the proposed fine. British Airways has the next 28 days to appeal, and the ICO says it will listen to their representations before making a final decision.