‘Potential Cybercriminal’ Reaches Out to Airline Company Following Data Breach Exposing Records of 6,000,000 Customers: Report

The Australian airline giant Qantas reportedly says it has potentially made contact with a cybercriminal who raided the company’s customer data last week.

In a statement on Monday, a Qantas spokesperson said that the firm is in close communication with authorities but wouldn’t confirm whether the hackers are demanding payment in exchange for the stolen customer data, reports The Guardian.

“A potential cyber-criminal has made contact and we are currently working to validate this. 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.”

Qantas announced on Wednesday that a cybercriminal targeted a call center and gained access to a third-party customer-servicing platform that stored service records for 6 million customers.

The airline says the impacted system is now contained but notes that stolen customer data includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth and frequent flier numbers. Qantas says no personal financial information or passport details were stolen.

Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson apologized on social media last week for the breach and promised regular updates.

“We’re finalizing a process that will enable us to provide affected customers with more information about their personal information that was potentially compromised.

We are treating this incredibly seriously and have implemented additional security measures to further strengthen our systems. Our customers can be assured that we have the right expertise and resources dedicated to resolving this matter thoroughly and effectively.”

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