Qantas, Australia’s Largest Airline, Suffers Major Cyberattack

Qantas, Australia’s flagship and largest airline, announced on June 30, 2025, that it had fallen victim to a cyberattack which compromised a database containing personal information of 6 million customers. The company stated it was “likely” that a “significant” amount of data was exfiltrated by the attackers. The breached database included names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and travel details — but no financial data.

The airline has notified the Australian Federal Police, relevant government agencies, and all affected customers. “We sincerely apologise to our customers and fully acknowledge the uncertainty this situation creates,” said Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson. According to the airline, the attackers gained access via social engineering tactics, infiltrating a Qantas call centre and using it to breach a third-party customer service platform.

The incident occurred just two days after the FBI, Mandiant, and Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 issued a joint warning about renewed threats from the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider targeting the aviation sector. The English-speaking group is believed to have carried out attacks on two other airlines earlier in June 2025.