A data broker owned by some of America’s biggest airlines has been selling access to customer flight data to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The data, compiled by data broker Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), includes names, flight itineraries, and financial details. It also covers flights booked via US travel agencies. ARC makes this data available to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), both of which were previously known as the US Customs Service until 2003, and both of which are offices under DHS. ARC is owned and operated by eight major US airlines and is unique in being the only financial intermediary between the airline industry and US travel agencies, according to the data broker’s contract with ICE.
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Source: Malwarebytes Labz
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