Great. My personal information may have been accessed by this “cyber incident” with Qantas Airways, as sensitive customer information was exposed in a data security breach as the result of the actions of a “cyber criminal” who targeted one of the call centers of the airline on Monday, June 30, 2025 — meaning that your personal information may also especially be at risk if you one of the thousands of customers who was a passenger with the airline recently.
Great. My Personal Information May Have Been Accessed By This “Cyber Incident” With Qantas Airways.
The following is a letter which I have received via e-mail message yesterday from Qantas Airways:
Hi,
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.
What happened
A cyber criminal targeted one of our airline call centres and gained access to a customer servicing platform. On Monday, we detected unusual activity on a third-party platform used by a Qantas airline contact centre. We then took immediate steps and contained the system. We can confirm all Qantas systems remain secure.
Information that was accessed
Our initial investigations show the compromised data may include names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and Frequent Flyer numbers.
Importantly, your credit card details, financial information and passport details were not accessed.
What we’re doing for you
Regular updates will be available on our dedicated webpage. We’ve also established a dedicated support line for affected customers on 1800 971 541 or +61 2 8028 0534, with access to specialist identity protection advice and resources through this team.
What you should do
We recommend:
- Remaining alert for unusual communications claiming to be from Qantas
- Being cautious of emails or calls asking for personal information or password
Remember, Qantas will never contact you requesting passwords, booking reference details or sensitive login information.
Your travel
If you have upcoming travel, you can check your flight details through the Qantas App or website as normal.
Our commitment
We’re taking this incident extremely seriously and working with government agencies and independent cyber security experts. We’re implementing additional security measures to strengthen system monitoring and protection of your information as part of our response. If we identify new important information as we continue to investigate and respond to this incident, we will share it with our customers.
Again, we are deeply sorry this occurred and our focus is on doing all we can to support you.
Vanessa Hudson
CEO
Qantas Group
“We are working closely with the Federal Government’s National Cyber Security Coordinator, the Australian Cyber Security Centre and independent specialised cyber security experts”, according to this message at the official Internet web site of Qantas Airways. “We have also notified the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner. Given the criminal nature of this incident, the Australian Federal Police has also been notified. We will continue to support these agencies as the investigation continues.”
How nice. I feel better already.
Final Boarding Call
I suppose that dealing with the after effects of Tropical Cyclone Alfred were not enough.
I am fortunate that I do not have a membership account with Qantas Airways, as I earned miles in the American Airlines AAdvantage membership program for my trip to Australia earlier this year — so perhaps the chance of my miles being stolen may be mitigated. I also have no upcoming travel scheduled with the airline.
Still, I might get flooded with junk mail — like I have nothing better to do with my time.
Between the incidents involving The Hertz Corporation, Delta Air Lines, Hyatt Corporation, Hilton, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, British Airways, Marriott, Facebook, Equifax, and other various companies over the years, protecting your sensitive information has become almost impossible to do…
…and yet, few measures are in place to rectify the potentially disastrous results which could possibly occur from these data breaches — as though few corporations and government entities are unconcerned about confronting the seriousness of such breaches and attacks.
If you were affected by the latest breach of sensitive data with Qantas Airways, you would have received an official notice as I did. Forget about looking forward to any meaningful compensation: greater than 344 million customers — including me, when my Starwood Preferred Guest account was compromised and wiped out back on Friday, January 16, 2015 before the issue was initially resolved six days later — were affected by the data breaches over the years with both Marriott International, Incorporated and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide LLC. The $52 million that Marriott International, Incorporated was ordered to pay by the Federal Trade Commission of the United States comes out to…
…are you ready?…
…approximately 15 cents per person — and that is not including legal fees or other expenses.
Don’t think that you should feel more safe and secure with regard to your personal information and data, as another breach in the security of your — as well as my — sensitive data is inevitable sometime in the near future…
All photographs ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
