Qantas says the records of six million passengers, mostly in Australia, have been targeted by cyber criminals.
Although the incident in one of its contact centres has been contained, it expects the proportion of data that has been stolen to be ‘significant’. QF says the incident occurred when a cyber criminal targeted a call centre and gained access to a third party customer servicing platform. The airline says ‘importantly’, credit card details, personal financial information and passport details are not held in this system. No frequent flyer accounts were compromised nor have passwords, PIN numbers or log-in details been accessed.
. . . Security
QF has additional security measures in place to further restrict access and strengthen monitoring and detection. The relevant authorities have also been notified, says QF.
. . . Customer Advice
QF has established a dedicated customer support line as well as a dedicated page on qantas.com to provide the latest information. Customers can contact +61 2 8028 0534 and will have access to specialist identity protection advice and resources through this team. QF says if customers have upcoming travel there is nothing they need to do.
. . . From The Top
Qantas group ceo Vanessa Hudson says the airline sincerely apologises to customers and recognised the uncertainty this will cause. ‘’Our customers trust us with their personal information and we take that responsibility seriously.’’
. . . Pax Records Hit
Although not cyber attacks, the airline suffered two problems last year affecting the records of customers. In May last year, a technology issue was blamed for a glitch affecting its app that allowed frequent flyers to view the personal details of other travellers. And in Oct it was reported ground handlers in India used their position to alter bookings and frequent flyer details to send the earned points to an account they controlled.
