Air Canada breach admitted by BianLian ransomware gang

Air Canada had 210 GB of data claimed to be stolen by the BianLian ransomware operation during a recent data breach, BleepingComputer reports. Extensive operational and technical data from Air Canada between 2008 and 2023, including SQL backups, employee information, vendor and supplier details, corporate database archives, and confidential files, were claimed to have been stolen by BianLian, which is contrary to the airline's initial disclosure noting that only limited employee information and records have been compromised. "Employee personal data is only a small fraction of the valuable data over which they have lost control," said BianLian. Air Canada has refused to comment BianLian's claims after the extortion group threatened to leverage the media in its efforts. U.S. and Australian critical infrastructure entities were the primary targets of BianLian when it emerged in June 2022 but the operation has since transitioned to purely extortion intrusions after a ransomware decryptor was unveiled in January.