By Alexandra Feiam
The airline confirmed on Wednesday that a cyber attack occurred in one of its contact centres, exposing customers鈥 names, dates of birth, emails, and frequent flyer numbers.
Other personal information such as credit card, passport, and financial details were not stored in those centres, Qantas has said.
The airline has now revealed they are yet to be contacted by anyone who claims to have the stolen data.
In an update released on Friday morning, Qantas said about six million customers had been impacted but that the airline鈥檚 system 鈥渞emains secure鈥.
Chief executive Vanessa Hudson said the business was working on 鈥減roviding the answers and transparency鈥 customers needed about the attack.
鈥淲e know that data breaches can feel deeply personal and understand the genuine concern this creates for our customers,鈥 she said.
鈥淩ight now we鈥檙e focused on providing the answers and transparency they deserve.
鈥淥ur investigation is progressing well with our cybersecurity teams working alongside leading external specialists to determine what information has been accessed.
The airline said further security measures – including needing more information before accessing Frequent Flyer details – had been implemented since the hack.
Qantas will begin contacting customers next week with details about the type of information accessed during the breach.
鈥淭his will confirm specific data fields for each individual, which will vary from customer to customer,鈥 the airline鈥檚 statement read.
鈥淲e have also increased resourcing in our contact centres to support our customers and have received more than 5000 inquiries through our dedicated customer support line established following the cyber incident.鈥
The airline issued an email to customers on Wednesday, in which Ms Hudson told those affected they did not need to change their passwords.
鈥淚 want to reassure our Qantas Frequent Flyers that there鈥檚 no requirement to reset your password or pin,鈥 she said.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e having trouble accessing your account, reset your password or call the Qantas Frequent Flyer Service Centre.鈥
Ms Hudson said the team was 鈥渇inalising a process that will enable us to provide affected customers with more information about their personal information that was potentially compromised鈥.
鈥淲e are treating this incredibly seriously and have implemented additional security measures to further strengthen our systems,鈥 she added.
鈥淥ur customers can be assured that we have the right expertise and resources dedicated to resolving this matter thoroughly and effectively.鈥
Ms Hudson apologised for the 鈥渦ncertainty鈥 the hack caused, and said the airline was committed to regularly updating impacted customers as the investigation progressed.
Affected customers can contact Qantas鈥 support line on 1800 971 541 or +61 2 8028 0534.