Qantas cyber hack could have stolen ‘significant' amount of data from six million customers
The hack penetrated a third-party customer service platform used by a Qantas contact center, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday. Six million customers have service records on the platform – with data including some of their names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flyer numbers.
However, the platform does not contain any customer credit card details, financial information or passport details, Qantas said.
After Qantas detected 'unusual activity' on the platform, it took action and 'contained' the system, it said. The statement said all Qantas systems are now secure, and there is no impact to the company's operations or safety.
It's not clear exactly how much data was stolen, 'though we expect it to be significant,' the airline said. It is now working to support affected customers, and is cooperating with the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Australian Federal Police and independent cybersecurity experts on the investigation.
'We sincerely apologize to our customers and we recognize the uncertainty this will cause. Our customers trust us with their personal information and we take that responsibility seriously,' said Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson in the statement.
'We are contacting our customers today and our focus is on providing them with the necessary support.'
Qantas' share price was down 3.5 per cent in morning trading, against a 0.4 per cent gain in the broader market, according to Reuters.
Australia has seen a series of major cyberattacks and company hacks in recent years. In 2019, a cyberattack targeted Australia's ruling and opposition parties less than three months before a national election. Two years later, broadcaster Nine News suffered a cyberattack that forced a number of live shows off air – calling it the largest cyberattack on a media company in Australia's history.
Most recently in 2022, cybercriminals in Russia conducted a ransomware attack on Medibank, one of Australia's largest private health insurers. Sensitive personal data, including health claims information, was stolen from 9.7 million customers – some of which was then released onto the dark web.
Last year, Australia publicly named and imposed sanctions on a Russian national for his alleged role in the attack. He was an alleged member of the Russian ransomware gang REvil, which had previously launched large attacks on targets in the United States and elsewhere, before Russian authorities cracked down in 2022 and detained multiple people.
Article written by Jessie Yeung, CNN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
5 minutes ago
- CTV News
Israel revokes visas for some Australian diplomats
In this image taken from video, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks during a press conference, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, in Canberra, Australia. (Australia Pool via AP) TEL AVIV/SYDNEY — Israel's foreign minister said on Monday he had revoked the visas of Australian diplomats to the Palestinian Authority, following a decision by Canberra to recognize a Palestinian state and cancel an Israeli lawmaker's visa. The Australian government said it had cancelled the visa of a lawmaker from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition who has advocated against Palestinian statehood and called for Israel to annex the occupied West Bank. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Australia's ambassador to Israel had been informed that the visas of representatives to the Palestinian Authority had been revoked. Like many countries, Australia maintains an embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv and a representative office to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah. 'I also instructed the Israeli Embassy in Canberra to carefully examine any official Australian visa application for entry to Israel,' Saar wrote on X, describing Australia's refusal to grant visas to some Israelis as 'unjustifiable.' Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called Israel's decision an 'unjustified reaction.' 'At a time when dialog and diplomacy are needed more than ever, the Netanyahu government is isolating Israel and undermining international efforts towards peace and a two-state solution,' Wong said in a statement. The Palestinian foreign ministry issued a statement condemning Israel's decision as illegal and 'in violation of international law. Australia is set to recognize a Palestinian state next month, a move it says it hopes will contribute to international momentum towards a two-state solution, a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza. Invitation by Jewish organization Simcha Rothman, a parliamentarian from the Religious Zionism party led by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, had been scheduled to visit Australia this month at the invitation of a conservative Jewish organization. Rothman said he was told his visa had been cancelled over remarks the Australian government considered controversial and inflammatory, including his assertion that Palestinian statehood would lead to the destruction of the state of Israel and his call for Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank. 'Nothing that I said personally has not been said over and over again by the vast majority of the public in Israel and the government of Israel,' Rothman told Reuters by phone. Rothman said he had been informed that his views would cause unrest among Australian Muslims. Asked about Canberra's decision on Palestinian statehood, Rothman said that would be a 'grave mistake and a huge reward for Hamas and for terror.' Australia's Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke said the government took a hard line on those who sought to spread division in Australia, and that anyone coming to promote a message of hate and division was not welcome. 'Under our government, Australia will be a country where everyone can be safe, and feel safe,' he said in a statement. The Home Affairs Ministry declined further comment. Rothman had been invited by the Australian Jewish Association to meet members of the Jewish community and show solidarity in the face of 'a wave of antisemitism,' AJA Chief Executive Robert Gregory said. In June, Australia and four other countries imposed sanctions on Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir over accusations of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.
CBC
33 minutes ago
- CBC
Ukrainian ensemble, youth archers upset as Air Canada strike disrupts international events
Lily Azli is excited to compete in the World Archery Youth Championships in Winnipeg this week, but she is also disappointed core members of her team from Australia won't be firing arrows alongside her amid a strike that's plaguing air travellers heading to or from Canada. About 570 athletes from 63 countries were slated to arrive in Winnipeg for the World Archery Youth Championships on the same weekend the Air Canada strike impacted about 750 flights Canadawide. "You know how many hours they've put into training and how many little and big sacrifices they've made to be here," said Azli, 18. "To know they're not going to be here at all, it breaks your heart." Five of Azli's 19 teammates won't make it for the competition due to cancellations related to the ongoing Air Canada flight attendant strike. Flight attendants remained on the picket line at Winnipeg Richardson International Airport on Monday. CUPE Manitoba president Gina McKay is adamant the picketing will continue, despite Canada's Industrial Relations Board deciding Monday that continued defiance of a back-to-work order is illegal. "No matter what, we have constitutional rights to strike and that's what we're doing here today," she said Monday outside the Winnipeg airport. "We're working and fighting for fair wages and we're fighting for a fair contract. And that's what we're doing is we're holding the line." The industrial relations board called on the union to stop all strike activities and direct its members to restart bargaining talks. Disobeying the the board's order could result in fines and penalties. The union has characterized the federal Liberal government as supporting Air Canada's "refusal to negotiate fairly" by issuing the back to work order. Michael Zakaluzny said the strike resulted in the cancellations of flights to Columbia for he and others in the Melos Folk Ensemble, a Winnipeg-based Ukrainian folk group composed of choral, orchestral and dance elements. "Major disappointment," said Zakaluzny, co-director of the ensemble. "We had put in the preparation work, people had taken … a week of holidays and all of a sudden they're going nowhere fast." Thirty-one of the nearly 60-member group was to perform at the Festival Folclórico Internacional de Barranquilla Estefanía Caicedo in the coastal cities of Barranquilla and Ciénaga. They had been rehearsing since earlier this year and were slated to put on 15 shows in Columbia over 10 days. Hours before their flight was to take off from Winnipeg they found out a leg of the trip from Toronto to Bogota had been cancelled. "The festival was expecting for us to be there and participate, they'd made arrangements for hotels, food, transportation, all those things on their end," said Zakaluzny. "The day before the festival starts, all of a sudden we've left them, through no fault of our own, with a huge hole in their lineup." Zakaluzny said the group looked into alternate flight options through their travel agent but were unsuccessful. "To cover themselves they do say they've tried to make alternate arrangements but none are available. I'm not sure … that's actually happening but they don't give you much notice and basically throw everything into a state of disarray." Winnipeg travellers feeling stranded by cancelled flights as Air Canada strike looms Though Air Canada will provide the group refunds, the section of their trip booked through a Columbia airline did not cancel that flight, so the group is out of pocket for that flight. Kerilee Falloon, director of communications for the Winnipeg Airport Authority, said it's best to stay home if you know in advance your flight has been cancelled and are hoping to rebook. "It's best not to come to the airport as the airport won't be your point of contact for rebooking." The archery competition schedule had to be bumped by a day — to begin Wednesday — to accommodate potential late arrivals, said Riel Dion, a member of the local team managing the championships. Dion said the tense bargaining situation between Air Canada and its staff has created a layer of uncertainty to the competition. "Planning an event of this scale is challenging into itself, and when you add something like a strike on top of that it definitely makes things a little bit more difficult," said Dion, who is also founder and CEO of event management company Event Camp. He said so far some international athletes have made it to the U.S. or Canada but have had to scramble to make alternative flight arrangements to get to Winnipeg. "There are some [athletes] from further away, especially southeast Asia, who are still on the phone with me saying we still can't come, our flights were cancelled," he told CBC Information Radio host Marcy Markusa. Faiiuz Azli's 15-year-old son and Lily, his 18-year-old daughter, were among the lucky ones to not face cancellations from Australia. But 15 athletes and six officials weren't so lucky. Of the 19-member team from Australia, Azli estimates about 14 will make it in time to compete. "I am speechless because we know all the kids, they all, as a team, they're very close and now some of them aren't going to be here," he said. "It's devastating, it's very sad."
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
Securities watchdog CIRO shut down some systems after cybersecurity threat found
Networking cables on a batch board are shown in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette TORONTO — The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization says it shut down some of its systems as a precaution after identifying a cybersecurity threat on Aug. 11. It says a preliminary investigation indicates that some personal information of member firms and their registered employees was affected. CIRO says its priority is to investigate which individual registrants may have been affected and once determined, to notify those individuals and provide risk mitigation services. It adds that the investigation is ongoing and it is working with external cybersecurity and legal experts, and law enforcement. The organization says its real-time equity market surveillance operations continue as normal, with no active threat in its systems. CIRO is the self-regulatory organization that oversees investment dealers, mutual fund dealers, and trading activity on Canada's debt and equity markets. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2025.
