Qantas, the national airline of Australia, has been targeted by the notorious hacker group Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters in an online extortion attempt. The group claimed to have stolen a large cache of customer data from Qantas and 38 other major companies that use the Salesforce platform, demanding a ransom to prevent the data from being released.
Qantas is aware of the situation and has obtained an injunction through the New South Wales Supreme Court to prevent the stolen data from being accessed or published. The airline has also increased security measures, provided additional training for its teams, and strengthened system monitoring and detection in response to the incident. Qantas has prioritised ensuring continued vigilance and offering support to affected customers, including a 24/7 support line and specialist identity protection advice.
The Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters group has given the targeted companies, which include major brands like Toyota, Disney, Ikea, and HBO Max, until Friday to begin negotiating a ransom. The group claims that if Salesforce, the common thread among the targeted companies, complies with its demands, it will not pursue the other affected companies. However, Salesforce has stated that there is no indication that its platform has been compromised, and the company remains engaged with affected customers to provide support.