Aeroplan numbers, passport numbers, birth dates, and countries of residence could have been accessed

Some 20,000 Air Canada customers woke up Wednesday to learn their personal information may have been compromised after a breach in the airline’s mobile app, which prompted a lock-down on all 1.7 million accounts until their passwords could be changed. Air Canada said it detected unusual login activity between Aug. 22 and Aug. 24 and tried to block the hacking attempt, locking the app accounts as an additional measure, according to a notice on its website. As well as users’ names, email addresses and telephone numbers, Air Canada has confirmed that more sensitive information, including passport numbers, may be included in the breach. Nearly 2,300 bookings through Air Canada hotel options could have been involved in a data breach of hundreds of thousands of records that Orbitz reported earlier this year, Air Canada said. In addition, it warned the following details may also have been copied if they had been provided:

passport number

passport country of issuance

passport expiration date

country of passport issuance

nationality

country of residence

birth date

The City of London's Action Fraud team told the BBC that the "consequences of having your passport information accessed can be severe". CNET: Equifax's data breach by the numbers: The full breakdown

However, Air Canada is keen to point out that the Canadian government says the risk of a third-party obtaining a passport in your name is "low" on the proviso that users still own their passport and have both ID and proof of citizenship.
Air Canada reports a data breach in which passport information was accessed.