Qantas (QAN.AX) has confirmed a major cybersecurity breach involving the personal data of millions of customers, marking one of Australia’s most significant data breaches in recent years. The incident is a major setback for the airline, which has been working to rebuild its reputation after a series of controversies.
According to a statement issued by the airline on Wednesday, a hacker infiltrated a call centre system and gained access to a third-party customer service platform. The compromised data includes the names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and frequent flyer numbers of approximately six million individuals.
Qantas did not disclose the exact location of the affected call centre or the specific customer segments impacted. The airline reported detecting unusual activity on the platform and acted immediately to contain the breach.
“We are continuing to investigate the proportion of the data that has been stolen, though we expect it will be significant,” the statement noted. The airline clarified that there was no impact on flight operations or passenger safety.
The breach follows warnings from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation last week, which highlighted that cybercrime group Scattered Spider was targeting airlines. Hawaiian Airlines and Canada’s WestJet have already reported cyberattacks. While Qantas has not named the culprit, security experts say the scale and method suggest a coordinated attack.
Mark Thomas, Australia Director at cybersecurity firm Arctic Wolf, called the incident alarming and noted that Scattered Spider often uses social engineering tactics, such as impersonating IT staff to obtain passwords. Charles Carmakal, CTO of Google-owned Mandiant, added that while it’s too early to confirm the group’s involvement, global airline companies should remain vigilant against similar threats.
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The incident sent Qantas shares down by 2.4% during afternoon trading, contrasting with a 0.8% rise in the broader market.
This breach is the most high-profile in Australia since the 2022 cyberattacks on Optus and Medibank, which led to stronger national cyber resilience regulations, including mandatory incident reporting.
For Qantas, the breach brings renewed scrutiny at a time when the airline is working to regain public trust. The company faced backlash for laying off thousands of ground workers during COVID-19 border closures while still receiving government subsidies. It also admitted to selling tickets for flights that had already been cancelled and was criticized for allegedly influencing the government’s decision to block Qatar Airways’ bid to expand in Australia—claims Qantas denies.
Since taking over as CEO in 2023, Vanessa Hudson has taken steps to restore the airline’s image. Addressing the breach, she said, “We recognise the uncertainty this will cause. Our customers trust us with their personal information and we take that responsibility seriously.”
Qantas has reported the incident to the Australian Cyber Security Centre, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). While the ACSC declined to comment, the AFP confirmed awareness of the breach. The OAIC did not immediately respond.
The airline emphasized that no passwords, PINs, or login credentials were compromised, nor were any frequent flyer accounts accessed.
