Airline tickets alerted after hackers gained unauthorized access

KATHMANDU: Following the unauthorized entry of hackers into the sale of airline tickets, the relevant service providers were notified to avoid similar situations.

After the incident went public, the Police Cyber Bureau addressed a letter to the Nepal Tourism Board requesting the required coordination for public awareness.

“As there have been more cases of unauthorized entry of hackers in air ticket sales in the last few days, it is requested to notify the related ticketing agencies and other offices in order to be safe in this regard,” the bureau wrote in a letter to the board.

A request for a coordinating role with the relevant airlines and software companies has been submitted in order to supply the necessary information in the prescribed format as soon as possible throughout the investigation.

Based on this, the Nepal Tourism Board has launched the requisite public awareness campaigns. Maniraj Lamichhane, director of the board, stated that the relevant agencies have been notified of the need for service providers to be aware of the need to keep secure, not to divulge private information at random, and to conduct business only after confirmation.

Lamichhane said that he has instructed all agencies and individuals involved in the situation to take full preventive steps.

The Cyber Bureau is also looking into the event.

According to Superintendent of Police Pashupati Kumar Rai, an investigation has been launched in response to the complaint lodged with the bureau. He also stated that the tourism board will be notified by letter so that the situation does not occur again.

Some time ago, it has been made public that lakhs of tickets have been cut unauthorized from the usernames of three organizations including Cosmo Nepal Travels.

It was discovered that the hacker targeted the plane ticket sales and distribution company and ‘issued’ foreign tickets by acquiring illegal access to the login name and password via phishing.