Qantas alerts customers after cyber-attack on third-party platform compromises personal data of 6 million, including emails and phone numbers.

Following a cyberattack that affected its third-party customer support systems, Qantas is reaching out to its customers. On June 30, the Australian airline found anomalous activity on a platform used by its contact center that contains the personal information of six million customers, including names, frequent flyer numbers, birth dates, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Qantas said in a statement that it immediately contained the system after discovering the compromise. The business says it expects a sizable percentage of data to be stolen, but it is currently looking into the exact scope of the hack. The public has been reassured that no frequent flyer accounts, passwords, or PINs were hacked, nor were passport, credit card, or personal financial information stored in the compromised system.

Qantas has notified the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Cyber Security Centre, and the Australian Information Commissioner's office about the intrusion. According to Vanessa Hudson, CEO of Qantas Group, they acknowledge the confusion this would cause and genuinely apologize to their consumers.

She assured customers that there would be no effect on Qantas' operations or aviation safety and advised them to contact the dedicated support line if they had any issues. Days before the attack, the FBI warned on X that the airline industry was the target of the cybercriminal organization Scattered Spider. In the last two weeks, similar cyberattacks have affected both Canadian airline WestJet and US airline Hawaiian Airlines.