Australia’s flagship airline Qantas disclosed a major cyber attack that compromised personal information belonging to six million customers, marking one of the country’s most significant data breaches in recent years. The attack, detected on Monday, targeted a third-party customer service platform used by one of Qantas’ contact centers.
According to the airline, cybercriminals accessed customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and frequent flyer numbers. However, Qantas emphasized that credit card details, financial information, and passport data were not stored on the compromised system and remain secure. The company expects the amount of stolen data to be “significant.”
The breach represents another setback for Qantas as it works to rebuild its reputation following controversies during the COVID-19 pandemic. CEO Vanessa Hudson apologized to customers and confirmed the airline has notified Australian Federal Police, the Cyber Security Centre, and other relevant authorities. Security experts suspect the attack may be linked to the “Scattered Spider” hacking group, which has been targeting aviation companies globally. Qantas shares fell 3.6% following the announcement.
Source: Reuters