Amadeus data breach hits Qantas, Cathay and 184,000 travellers
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- A hacker reached Amadeus, a Spanish firm that runs airline booking systems worldwide.
- Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Japan Airlines and ANA are among the airlines affected.
- Booking names, flight details and some passport numbers were taken. Payment data was not.
One hack hit many airlines at once Travel software firm Amadeus lost booking data from August 2023 to September this year Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Japan Airlines and ANA are among the airlines affected.
More than 184,000 records may be involved.
What happened
Amadeus IT Group is a Spanish company It runs the booking and ticketing systems that airlines use every day Its clients include airlines, hotels and car hire firms around the world.
The company says it serves more than 400 airlines, according to Newstalk ZB.
An unauthorized person got into one of its systems Amadeus found a weak spot in a booking display tool The intruder used login credentials for a system account, according to Edaily.
In simple words, someone used a stolen password to look at booking records.
The unauthorized access ran from August 2023 to September this year. Amadeus contained the problem in September. It reset account passwords and added stronger monitoring, Cathay Pacific said, according to Newstalk ZB.
This is a shared system Many airlines store their bookings in it That is why one break-in hit so many carriers at once.
A ticket can involve more than one airline Our codeshare flights explainer shows how this works.
Here is what airlines have reported so far:
- Japan Airlines and Japan Transocean Air: about 92,000 customers affected. For about 2,000 of them, extra details were also exposed, according to Edaily. These included passport numbers, nationalities, email addresses and phone numbers.
- Cathay Pacific: about 53,000 bookings affected. Most records held the booking reference, passenger name and flight details. A smaller group also had emails, phone numbers and travel documents, Reuters reported. Some records even held frequent flyer numbers.
- All Nippon Airways (ANA): about 37,800 customers affected. About 1,700 of them may have had passport numbers exposed, according to Edaily. Contact details were also at risk.
- Jin Air: 1,454 customers affected. The data held names, birth dates, phone numbers and nationalities, according to Edaily.
- Korean Air and Asiana: Amadeus told them on October 20. They told their customers on October 23. They have not shared exact numbers, according to Edaily.
- Condor: the German airline also had some customer information leaked, according to Edaily.
- Qantas: the airline alerted Australia's national cyber security offices. It is still checking the impact on its bookings with Amadeus, Newstalk ZB reported.
- Malaysia Airlines: its own IT systems were not breached. There is no sign that financial information was taken, Reuters reported, according to Newstalk ZB.
Why it matters
Your booking details often sit in one shared system. Amadeus holds data for hundreds of airlines. When that system is breached, the damage spreads fast across many carriers.
The stolen data is mostly booking references, names and flight details That sounds harmless It is not.
Scammers can use real booking details to write fake emails that look genuine Edaily reports there are concerns about this kind of secondary damage.
Passport numbers are the most serious part About 2,000 Japan Airlines customers may have had passport numbers exposed About 1,700 ANA customers faced the same risk.
A passport number can be used for identity fraud Modern passports now carry chips, but the number alone still matters.
The good news is about money. Amadeus said it has not confirmed any leak of payment information, like credit card details. Cathay Pacific found no evidence that payment data was accessed, Reuters reported.
There is a bigger lesson here The airlines' own systems were not breached The weak link was a supplier they all share.
A tech firm called Logon said the breach raised supply chain questions for airlines That is according to Newstalk ZB The question is simple.
Do airlines know who holds their customers' data.
What happens next
Amadeus says it has reset the account credentials and strengthened its system monitoring Edaily quoted Amadeus: no misuse of the stolen data has been confirmed so far Investigations are still ongoing.
Amadeus also said there is no sign the flaw was used for ransomware, Reuters reported.
More airlines may still come forward Edaily reports that the true total is likely far higher than 184,000 records Many airlines have not yet shared their numbers.
The count will keep rising as more carriers finish their checks.
Qantas gave a clear statement on the breach "We have been advised by global travel technology provider Amadeus that there has been unauthorised access to one of their systems," the airline said "Amadeus advised the issue was contained in September and we're working with them to understand the impact to any Qantas bookings.
There is no impact to Qantas systems or databases, which remain secure," according to Newstalk ZB.
If you booked one of these airlines between August 2023 and September, stay alert Check your email for a notice from your airline Treat unexpected messages about your booking with care.
Do not click links in strange emails Type the airline's address into your browser yourself If you travel often, see why travel insurance is worth it even for short trips.
Small steps can protect big trips.
This breach will likely push airlines to check their suppliers more closely. One shared system means one shared risk. Expect more disclosure statements in the coming days as airlines finish their reviews.
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