Australia's Qantas Resolves App Issue That Exposed Personal Details of Frequent Flyers

By Trisha Andrada

May 01, 2024 05:27 AM EDT

Qantas
Qantas aeroplanes wait at Melbourne Tullamarine Airport on February 25, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia.
(Photo : Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Qantas, the flag carrier of Australia, has addressed concerns raised about data privacy after resolving a problem with its app that allowed consumers access to other people's sensitive information and accounts.

"We sincerely apologise to customers impacted by the issue with the Qantas app this morning, which has now been resolved," it stated on Wednesday, May 1.

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Some Customers Gain Access to Other People's Sensitive Information

In the hours leading up to 9:00 AM on Wednesday, concerned social media users started tweeting images of what seemed to be boarding passes and flight details of other customers.

One shared a video that demonstrated how the app alternated between many user names as they updated.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Qantas frequent flyers were able to see the names, impending flight details, point balances, and statuses of other customers.

The business clarified that it did not think a cybersecurity breach was at play but that an internal review had shown that the issue could have been caused by recent app-system modifications.

Qantas assured that customers could not have transferred or used the points of other frequent fliers and that no additional financial or personal information was provided. It also pointed out that no clients have been issued invalid boarding passes.

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