Qantas Airlines Confirms Massive Data Breach Affecting Millions

Qantas Confirms Cyberattack on Customer Contact Centre Amid Data Breach

Australian airline Qantas has confirmed that personal data belonging to 5.7 million customers was stolen in a major cyberattack earlier this year and has now been leaked online.

Qantas confirmed in July that hackers had targeted one of its customer contact centers, breaching a computer system used by a third party now known to have been Salesforce.

They secured access to sensitive information such as customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and birthdays, the blue-chip Australian company said.

No further breaches have taken place since and the company is cooperating with Australian security services.

“Qantas is one of a number of companies globally that has had data released by cybercriminals following the airline’s cyber incident in early July, where customer data was stolen via a third party platform,” the company said in a statement.

Most of the data leaked was names, e-mail addresses and frequent flyer details, the firm said.

But some of the data included customers’ “business or home address, date of birth, phone number, gender and meal preferences”.

“No credit card details, personal financial information or passport details were impacted,” Qantas said.

The hack of data from Australia’s biggest airline comes as a string of major cyberattacks in the country has raised concerns about the protection of personal data.

Qantas apologised last year after a glitch with its mobile app exposed some passengers’ names and travel details.

And major ports handling 40 per cent of Australia’s freight trade ground to a halt in 2023 after hackers infiltrated computers belonging to operator DP World.