Qantas contacted by ‘potential cyber criminal’ after customer data breach

Qantas says it has been contacted by the “potential cyber criminal” behind last week’s data breach.

Six million Qantas customers received an email last Wednesday informing them that cyber criminals had broken through the company’s security measures.

Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said the hackers had accessed “principally customer names, also phone numbers and frequent flyer numbers as well”.

The airline has now confirmed that the cyber criminal has made contact.

“A potential cyber criminal has made contact and we are currently working to validate this,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

“As this is a criminal matter, we have engaged the Australian Federal Police and won’t be commenting any further on the detail of the contact.

“There is no evidence that any personal data stolen from Qantas has been released but, with the support of specialist cyber security experts, we continue to actively monitor.”

Qantas first detected “unusual activity” after a cyber criminal targeted its Manila call centre, gaining access to one of its third party platforms on June 30.

The airline said it took immediate steps to contain the platform, but that personal information had already been stolen.

It was confirmed that credit card information, personal financial information and passport details were not stolen as they are not stored on the breached system.

Qantas said frequent flyer accounts, passwords and PIN numbers also remain protected.

The company has been working with the National Cyber Security Coordinator and the Australian Signals Directorate.

Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security Tony Burke said Qantas has been fully cooperating with government agencies.

Ms Hudson personally apologised for the breach in a written letter.

“I’m writing to inform you that we believe your personal information was accessed during the cyber incident we recently experienced. I want to personally apologise that this has happened and explain what we know and how we’re supporting you,” the letter reads.

She said Qantas has been focused on providing customers with support amongst the “uncertainty” caused by the attack.

“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,” Ms Hudson said.

Qantas customers are able to contact a “dedicated support line” on 1800 971 541.