How Did Hackers Manage To Lift The Details Of BA Customers? theguardian.com

As British Airways reels from yet another IT scandal, speculation about how the "world's favourite airline" could allow the credit card details of 380,000 customers to be stolen from under its nose for two weeks swirls.

Details on exactly how the criminals were able to steal the credit card information are thin on the ground, and will likely require BA or a third-party security contractor to divulge details.

Data breaches can take many forms, from simply leaving sensitive security data on USB flash drives on west London streets, to blackmail, social engineering, disgruntled ex- or current employees and intrusion attempts exploiting one or multiple weaknesses in a company's cybersecurity.