Six million passengers' private information breached in cyberattack, Aussie airline Qantas says

AUSTRALIAN AIRLINE QANTAS was hit with a cyberattack overnight after hackers infiltrated a system containing sensitive data on six million customers.

There was no impact on safety of the airline’s ground operations and the issue has since been “contained”, the company said in a post to social media. It is contacting customers to make them aware of the incident, it added.

Hackers gained access to a network connected to one of Qantas’ customer contact centres. The airline said the computer system is used and operated by a third party.

Sensitive information, such as customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and dates of birth, were accessed during the cybersecurity breach. Six million customers had records on their platform, the firm said.

“We are continuing to investigate the proportion of the data that has been stolen, though we expect it will be significant,” Qantas said.

Passport numbers and credit card details were not collected during the breach, as they were not kept on the system. Airline boss Vanessa Hudson said the firm has contacted Australia’s national cyber crime unit.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers, and we recognise the uncertainty this will cause,” she said. “Our customers trust us with their personal information, and we take that responsibility seriously.”

Customers can contact a dedicated support line, where they can gain access to specialist identity protection advice and resources. An internal investigation has been launched, and additional cybersecurity measures have been deployed, the firm said.