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The law firm that forced Qantas to pay $120 million in compensation to outsourced workers has launched a new class action against the airline over its recent data hack.
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Maurice Blackburn’s complaint accuses the Flying Kangaroo of breaching privacy laws by failing to take adequate measures to protect the personal information held in its customer database.
The incident reportedly involved cyber criminals using AI to impersonate a Qantas employee and then tricking a customer service operator in Manila into divulging crucial information.
While no group has claimed responsibility, reports suggest that a hacking collective known as Scattered Spider may be behind the attack. In total, nearly 6 million customers are thought to be affected.
Maurice Blackburn said it has already filed a representative complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and urged customers to register their interest in joining the lawsuit.
“It is early days in what we are learning about the mass data breach, but if you’re one of the millions of people that have had your personal information compromised, you’re eligible to register with us and we will keep you informed as the matter progresses,” said Elizabeth O’Shea, who is overseeing the potential class action.
The attack took place on 30 June, and Qantas last week began contacting Frequent Flyer customers to inform them exactly how much of their data was stolen.
It also revealed that 5.7 million passengers were targeted in total, with data fields compromised, including phone numbers, addresses and dates of birth.
“Since the incident, we have put in place a number of additional cyber security measures to further protect our customers’ data and are continuing to review what happened,” Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said in an update.
“We remain in constant contact with the National Cyber Security Coordinator, Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Australian Federal Police. I would like to thank the various agencies and the federal government for their continued support.”
Qantas has subsequently obtained a court injunction itself to prevent any person or organisation from publishing the customer information stolen in its recent hack.
The airline called the ruling of the NSW Supreme Court an “important next course of action” but also reiterated that there is still “no evidence” that any data had been released into the public domain. It has also claimed to have strengthened its cyber security defences.
Maurice Blackburn has a long history of launching actions against Qantas, with its most notable victory coming after it forced the airline to concede that it had illegally fired outsourced ground handlers during the pandemic.
In total, Qantas is being forced to pay $120 million to compensate 1,820 affected workers following a ruling by the Federal Court in October last year.
That payout came after a long battle through the Australian legal system, which ultimately saw the High Court rule that the decision to dismiss workers was illegal.
The airline had earlier argued that it had no choice but to remove the roles due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 and the potential $100 million a year in cost savings the move could bring.
According to Qantas, the fund will pay workers directly, with compensation amounts covering both economic and non-economic loss, as well as compensation to the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) and any costs incurred in managing the distribution.
“This is an important step in bringing closure to these individuals, and I want to reiterate our sincere apologies to those impacted and their families,” Hudson said.
“We know this has been a difficult period for those affected and are pleased we have been able to work closely with the TWU to expedite this process and resolve it ahead of Christmas.”
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says:From my observations and experience, by joining a class action, in my case, against AMP, the only winners are the legal operatives instigating the class action. They forensically pursue any evidence that they can use to seek court approvals of their claim/s and potentially gain approvals for outrageous costs prior to considerations for the actual people affected. These class actions are normally aimed at high profile large customer base enterprises with a record of positive balance sheet results. In this proposed case against QF I am of the opinion that the results of a full proven enquiry have yet to be published so, as has been speculated, “opportunism” does come to mind.