Protection of personal data
Important information regarding the protection of personal data
At Connections, we take the protection of our customers' personal data very seriously. We therefore wish to inform you with full transparency of a security incident in which personal data stored in our systems may have been accessed by unauthorised third parties. Although, to date, there are no indications that this has actually occurred, we believe it is important to inform you of this incident in the interest of transparency.
As soon as this situation was identified, we immediately engaged our internal teams and external cybersecurity specialists to investigate the incident, assess its potential impact, and implement the necessary measures to further strengthen the security of our systems. We have also notified the Data Protection Authority of this incident.
What happened?
As part of our ongoing investigation, we have found that an unauthorised third party may have misused the login credentials of one of our employees. As a result, they may have gained access to a file containing information relating to a number of our customers.
The investigation is still ongoing. Together with independent cybersecurity specialists and the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB), we are investigating the exact circumstances of the incident, the data that may be involved, and its potential impact.
What data may be involved?
Based on the information currently available, it is possible that the data involved primarily consists of identification and contact details, such as:
first and last name;
postal address;
email address;
telephone number.
As the investigation is still ongoing, the nature of the data involved may vary from one individual to another.
There is no indication whatsoever that Connections' booking platforms have been affected by this incident. You can therefore continue preparing for your trip with confidence: your travel booking has not been affected.
What measures have we taken?
To limit the potential impact of the incident and further strengthen the security of our systems, we immediately took several measures:
the affected systems were immediately isolated and overall security was further strengthened;
a thorough technical investigation was launched with the support of independent cybersecurity specialists;
the investigation is continuing with the support of the Centre for Cybersecurity Belgium (CCB) to establish the exact circumstances of the incident;
additional security measures are being implemented to help prevent similar incidents in the future;
all necessary steps are being taken in accordance with the applicable data protection legislation and, where appropriate, we are cooperating with the relevant authorities.
What can you do?
At this time, we have no indication whatsoever that the data concerned has been used fraudulently.
As a precaution, we recommend that you remain vigilant for any unusual communications, such as emails, text messages or telephone calls requesting personal information, banking details or payments. No further action is required on your part.
Please note that Connections will never ask you by email, telephone or text message to disclose your passwords, access codes or banking details.
If you are in any doubt about the authenticity of a message claiming to be from Connections, please do not respond to it. Instead, contact your local Connections office directly.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this situation or would like further information, please contact us via our contact page or our Data Protection Officer (DPO) at dpo@connections.be.
Our commitment
We sincerely regret this incident and understand that it may raise concerns.
Our teams continue to investigate the circumstances of this incident thoroughly while further strengthening our security measures to ensure the highest possible level of protection for the personal data entrusted to us.
Should the ongoing investigation reveal any significant new information relevant to you, we will, of course, inform you accordingly. You can be assured that we are doing everything possible to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.
Thank you for the trust you place in Connections.