United Airlines has been very generous after the company rewarded two lucky hackers with a million frequent-flier miles each. The reason? These hackers detected potential tech glitches on its website that may cause future security breaches on its systems.
Unlike technology companies, bug bounties in the transportation industry are quite rare. Companies use them to enlist so-called white-hat hackers with enough specialized skill to detect security gaps before cybercriminals use them to steal customer information or crash websites.
So, United Airlines didn't hesitate to give away 1 million miles to two people who have successfully found security holes in the airline's computer systems. According to Register Guard, the rewards were made under the company's security program established in May.
"At United, we take your safety, security and privacy seriously," the company's statement read, as per Yahoo! News. "We utilize best practices and are confident that our systems are secure. We are committed to protecting our customers' privacy and the personal data we receive from them, which is why we are offering a bug bounty program - the first of its kind within the airline industry."
United Airlines also added that their bug bounty program, will further strengthen their security and allow them to continually provide excellent service.
In return for receiving the flight miles reward, the hackers are not allowed to divulge any information or details about the security bug they had detected. United Airlines spokesperson Luke Punzenberger also declined to comment about the flaws the hackers found. He just said Thursday that two people have received the maximum award of 1 million miles each while others got smaller rewards.
Since 2012, United Airlines has suffered several major tech glitches on their computer systems. Last week, all United flights were briefly grounded and over 1,000 were delayed when it switched passenger-reservations and other systems over to those that had been used. The company blamed the incident on a faulty computer router.
Airline industry trade experts often advise companies to take all necessary precautionary measures to ensure customer data are secured. They also urge most if not all companies to have internal programs that continuously check systems for intrusions.
Meanwhile, a million miles is enough for several first-class trips to Asia or up to 20 round-trips in the United States. One News revealed it would also be enough to circle the Earth 40 times, or fly between Auckland and London about 87 times, between Auckland and Sydney 745 times, or between Auckland and Wellington 3267 times.
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