Excerpt from The Hindu Article, Published on October 13, 2025
Australian airline Qantas confirmed that data belonging to 5.7 million customers has been leaked online following a cyberattack involving global software firm Salesforce. The breach, which has affected multiple major companies including Google, Disney, IKEA, Toyota, McDonald’s, Air France, and KLM, exposes how far-reaching the compromise of a major enterprise platform can be.
According to Qantas, the attackers accessed one of its customer contact center systems operated by Salesforce, stealing data such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, and frequent flyer details. Some records included home or business addresses, dates of birth, and meal preferences. The airline stressed that no credit card, financial, or passport data were compromised.
Salesforce acknowledged that it was “aware of recent extortion attempts by threat actors” connected to this widespread breach. Cybersecurity researchers linked the incident to a criminal alliance known as the Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, who reportedly used social engineering tactics—posing as IT staff—to trick support employees into giving them access.
In July, Qantas had already disclosed the incident, saying it was cooperating with Australian security services to prevent further data exposure. The company has since obtained a legal injunction from the Supreme Court of New South Wales to block the stolen data from being shared or published online. However, experts like Troy Hunt warned that legal measures may have little effect in stopping data already circulating across global forums.
The U.S. FBI has also issued warnings about similar attacks against Salesforce customers, emphasizing how threat actors rely on deception over advanced hacking tools. This breach adds to growing cybersecurity concerns in Australia, which has recently faced multiple high-profile data incidents impacting telecom providers and port operators.
To delve deeper into this topic, read the article on The Hindu.
