Recently, Qantas admitted to a massive data breach, exposing sensitive personal information of nearly six million customers. The airline stated that cybercriminals gained access to a third-party platform used by one of its contact centers. The breach was made public on Monday after Qantas observed “suspicious behaviour” on the platform.
In response to the incident, Qantas moved quickly to contain the situation, taking immediate steps to ensure that affected customers were quickly notified. The airline tweeted that it would be reaching out to those affected and has set up a special support hotline for help. Customers can reach this support line at 1800 971 541, with an international contact number available at +61 2 8028 0534.
Vanessa Hudson, the Qantas Group Chief Executive, said the company was sincerely apologetic for the infringement.
“We sincerely apologise to our customers and we recognise the uncertainty this will cause. Our customers trust us with their personal information, and we take that responsibility seriously,” – Vanessa Hudson, Qantas Group Chief Executive.
After the 2017 data breach—as well as the breaches at Anthem, Equifax and others—the focus has turned to the plight of those affected. Mohiuddin Ahmed is a senior lecturer in computing and security at Edith Cowan University. He pointed to the dangers associated with the misuse of purloined data. He recommended consumers to act quickly by updating their email passwords. He advised enabling multi-factor authentication to provide an additional layer of protection.
“Also, be very vigilant for scam calls, texts and phishing emails. Given the stolen information, sophisticated scammers will target these affected customers,” – Mohiuddin Ahmed.
As for Qantas, it says it’s still trying to determine the scope of this data breach. Preliminary findings show that the stolen data does affect sensitive information – including customers’ names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and frequent flyer numbers. As investigations are ongoing, the airline has doubled down on its commitment to providing appropriate assistance to those affected.
