Post by : Jyoti Gupta

Photo:Reuters

Qantas has confirmed it has suffered a significant cyber-attack that may have exposed the personal information of up to 6 million customers. The breach affected a third-party platform used by the airline’s contact centre and contained customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and frequent flyer numbers.

The airline said the issue was first detected on Monday and immediate steps were taken to secure the system. Qantas clarified that no credit card details, passport numbers, or login credentials were accessed, and frequent flyer accounts were not compromised.

While the identity of the hackers is not yet confirmed, early investigations suggest the attack may be linked to the notorious Scattered Spider group. This group is known for using social engineering tactics—such as impersonating employees—to bypass security systems, including multi-factor authentication, and access sensitive data.

Scattered Spider has previously targeted the aviation and retail industries in the US and UK. Last week, the FBI issued a warning that the group was actively focusing on the airline sector and exploiting vulnerabilities in third-party IT service providers.

Qantas has notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, and the federal police. The company has also brought in independent cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers and recognise the concern this incident may cause,” Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. “We are contacting customers directly and offering support as we work through the investigation.”

A dedicated hotline and webpage have been launched to provide updates and assistance to affected customers.

This incident adds to a growing list of data breaches in Australia, where cyberattacks are on the rise. Earlier this year, superannuation funds were targeted in hacks resulting in losses of over $500,000. According to official data, reported breaches rose by 25% in 2024 compared to the previous year, with most caused by malicious attacks like phishing and ransomware.