Suspected cybercriminals have contacted Qantas

Qantas has been approached by what it labelled a “potential” cybercriminal group, a week after hackers stole data on up to six million customers.

The airline said, in a statement on Monday after market close, that “a potential cybercriminal has made contact” but it would not disclose if a ransom is being sought. Qantas would also not disclose if a monetary sum was mentioned.

“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,” a Qantas spokesman said.

Qantas is currently working with cybersecurity experts “to validate” the authenticity of the communication.

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

Loading

Last week Qantas detected unusual activity on a “third-party platform” used by the airline’s contact centre in Manila, prompting an investigation. The airline disclosed the breach, thought to be the work of a criminal cybergang called Scattered Spider, last Wednesday.

The Qantas data breach follows high-profile cyber attacks on Optus in 2022, when hackers gained access to names, phone numbers and drivers licences of the telco giant’s customers.

It was followed by a ransomware gang breaching Medibank Private, when criminals began posting private customer data online to coerce the health insurer into paying the ransom.