Qantas confirms customer data stolen in ‘significant’ cyber attack
Qantas has confirmed a cyber attack on its systems, in which a “significant” amount of customer data was stolen, including names, phone numbers, and frequent flyer details.
The airline said in a statement that a cyber criminal targeted a call centre, and gained access to a third-party customer servicing platform. The airline detected “unusual activity” on the platform on Monday, and “took immediate steps” to contain the breach.
It is unknown how many of the airline’s 16 million Frequent Flyer customers will be impacted. Qantas said it is “continuing to investigate the proportion of the data that has been stolen, though we expect it will be significant”.
An initial review has confirmed the data includes some customers names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and frequent flyer numbers. Qantas said no credit card details, personal financial information, or passport details were held in the system that was accessed.
Qantas is currently contacting customers to “make them aware of the incident, apologise and provide details on the support available”.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said: “We sincerely apologise to our customers and we recognise the uncertainty this will cause. Our customers trust us with their personal information and we take that responsibility seriously.”
Hudson said Qantas is “working closely with the Federal Government’s National Cyber Security Coordinator, the Australian Cyber Security Centre and independent specialised cyber security experts”.
This is the latest PR nightmare for the Australia airline, following the illegal sacking of ground staff during the pandemic, the selling of ‘ghost flights’ to 86,000 Australians, and a damning third-party review that saw CEO Alan Joyce stripped of millions in bonuses, before leaving the airline.
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