Airline Technology Firm Sabre Investigating Computer Breach

A spate of recent computer-system breaches has spread into the travel industry, hitting a company that provides technology used for airline and hotel reservations.

Sabre Corp. said Friday that it is investigating a "cybersecurity incident" but isn't sure yet what if any information was stolen.

American Airlines, which uses Sabre, says it is investigating but has found no evidence of a breach. It has hired outside experts for assistance.

The developments were first reported byBLOOMBERG.

Several recent high-profile cyberattacks have put corporate technology experts on edge. The attacks have included one against the federal government's personnel office and another against insurance company Anthem Inc.

Citing people familiar with the investigation,BLOOMBERG had reported last week that China-backed hackers breached computer systems at United Airlines in May or June. A United spokesman did not deny the report but said that customers' personal information was secure.

Sabre said in a statement Friday, "We recently learned of a cybersecurity incident, and we are conducting an investigation into it now. At this time, we are not aware that this incident has compromised sensitive protected information, such as credit card data or personally identifiable information, but our investigation is ongoing."

A Sabre spokeswoman did not respond when asked for additional details.

Sabre was created as the reservations arm of American Airlines, which spun off Sabre as a separate company in 2000.

American Airlines spokesman Casey Norton said the airline began investigating after the report of a breach at Sabre.

"We have brought in outside security experts whose investigation has found no evidence of a breach" like those involving the federal Office of Personnel Management and Anthem, Norton said. "There is no evidence that customer data has been compromised."