Tech support scam caused massive data breach at Australian airline Qantas
It’s possible to leak PII describing 5.7 million people without breaching privacy rules
Stay informed on aviation cybersecurity trends, threats to aircraft systems, and airport security measures with the latest news and expert insights.
Search across headline titles and summaries.
Background for this topic.
Aviation encompasses the operation and support of aircraft, including flight control systems, air traffic management, and airport infrastructure. These systems rely on real-time data exchange for navigation, communication, and passenger processing, requiring continuous availability and data integrity to maintain safe and orderly air travel.
Information security in aviation focuses on preventing unauthorized access to avionics and air traffic control networks, which could disrupt flight operations or compromise safety. Key risks include manipulation of navigation data, interference with pilot-controller communications, and exposure of sensitive passenger information. Defenses emphasize strict access controls, network segmentation between operational and administrative systems, and monitoring for anomalies that could indicate cyber threats affecting flight safety or operational continuity.
Weekly headline count for the current query.
It’s possible to leak PII describing 5.7 million people without breaching privacy rules
Crim used infostealer to get cloud credentials If you don't say "yes way" to MFA, the consequences can be disastrous. Sensitive data belonging to about 50 global enterprises is listed for sale – and, in some cases, has already been sold – on the dark web following a major infostealer campaign, with apparent victims including American utility engineering firm Pickett and Associates; Japan's homebuilding giant Sekisui House; and Spain's largest airline Iberia.…
Countries that banded together to challenge Boeing in the air try to do the same to AWS, Microsoft, and Google on the ground Feature More than half a century ago, a consortium of European aerospace businesses from the UK, France, Germany and Spain joined forces to take on America's Boeing. Fast forward to the 21st century and the countries are applying the same model needs to the world of cloud computing, giving the continent a fighting chance to reduce the digital domination of Big Tech.…
Extra infosec investments are taxiing towards the runway India’s Civil Aviation Minister has revealed that local authorities have detected GPS spoofing and jamming at eight major airports.…
Skies are open for mischief as hard-to-trace drones and fast-moving cyber raids promise new wave of disruption Britain's aviation watchdog has warned it's only a matter of time before organized drone attacks bring UK airports to a standstill.…
Instead of job offers, victims get MiniJunk backdoor and MiniBrowse stealer Suspected Iranian government-backed online attackers have expanded their European cyber ops with fake job portals and new malware targeting organizations in the defense, manufacturing, telecommunications, and aviation sectors.…
‘Cyber-attack’ on ticketing outfit Collins and cable cuts at Dallas ground hundreds of flights Technology problems hit the commercial aviation industry hard over the weekend, leading to hundreds of cancelled flights and myriad delays on both sides of the Atlantic.…
Watch out, the phishermen are about, customers told European airline giants Air France and KLM say they are the latest in a string of major organizations to have their customers' data stolen by way of a break-in at a third party org.…
Few passengers are told they can opt out, and when they do, airport staff may push back US lawmakers are trying to extend the use of facial recognition at airports, despite many airline passengers objecting to the practice.…
Russia's top airline cancels 49 flights, delays affect many more Russia's largest airline, Aeroflot, canceled numerous flights on Monday morning following what it says was a failure in its IT systems - something hacktivists are claiming responsiblity for.…
Attack enters day 11 and still no public disclosure of what insider claims to be 'deep breach' of Active Directory Exclusive Aviation insiders say Serbia's national airline, Air Serbia, was forced to delay issuing payslips to staff as a result of a cyberattack it is battling.…
Plus: Confirms less serious data points like meal preferences also leaked Qantas says that when cybercrooks attacked a "third party platform" used by the airline's contact center systems, they accessed the personal information and frequent flyer numbers of the "majority" of the circa 5.7 million people affected.…
Plus: Qantas makes contact with 'potential cyber criminal' While the aviation industry has borne the brunt of Scattered Spider's latest round of social engineering attacks, the criminals aim to catch manufacturing and medical tech companies — and even Chipotle Mexican Grill — in tjeor web, as evidenced by hundreds of domains that security researchers say look a lot like phishing websites used by the criminal crews.…
Frequent flyers’ info takes flight Australian airline Qantas on Wednesday revealed it fell victim to a cyberattack that saw information describing six million customers stolen.…
Time ticking for defenders as social engineering pros weave wider web Just a few weeks after warning about Scattered Spider's tactics shifting toward the insurance industry, the same experts now say the aviation industry is now on the ransomware crew's radar.…
Flights still flying - just don't count on the app or website working smoothly Canadian airline WestJet is warning of "intermittent interruptions or errors" on its app and website as it investigates a cybersecurity incident.…
CrowdStrike remains hopeful that damages will be limited to seven figures CrowdStrike is "confident" that the worst-case scenario of its pending lawsuit with Delta will result in it paying the airline a sum in the "single-digit millions."…
PLUS: South Korea signs for massive supercomputer; HCL gets into chipmaking; US tariffs slow APAC tech buying; and more Asia In Brief Chinese company Guoxing Aerospace last launched a dozen satellites, each packing a 744 TOPS of computing power, in the first step towards creating an orbiting constellation of 2,800 such satellites.…
Intruders claim they stole GlobalX's flight records and manifests GlobalX, a charter airline used for deportations by the US government, has admitted someone broke into its network infrastructure.…
Judge allows aspects of passenger lawsuit to proceed A federal judge has cleared the runway for a class action from disgruntled passengers against Delta Air Lines as turbulence from last year's CrowdStrike debacle continues to buffet the carrier.…