Australia’s privacy watchdog warns ‘vishing’ on the rise as Qantas strengthens security after cyber-attack
Qantas has said it will beef up its security and threat detection after a cyber-attack affecting up to 6 million customers, as Australia’s privacy watchdog has warned attacks using social engineering to gain access to data are on the rise.In an update to customers on Thursday, the airline said more security measures would be put in place after cybercriminals were able to gain access to a third-party system used by a Qantas airline contact centre to steal customers’ personal information.“We’re … putting additional security measures in place to further restrict access and strengthen system monitoring and detection,” the company said.Qantas began emailing affected customers on Wednesday evening but had not indicated as of Thursday afternoon whether any compensation would be provided to those who had their personal information compromised.Cybersecurity analysts indicated to Guardian Australia that, as of Thursday afternoon, the data had not yet been posted on forums or dark web locations that attackers commonly frequent.
The alleged culprit of the attack has yet to be identified but has similarities to a ransomware group known as Scattered Spider.The group has targeted airlines in the US in recent weeks by engaging in what are called social engineering attacks, or “vishing”.They involve calling the IT support for large companies, often impersonating employees or contractors to deceive IT help desks into granting access and bypassing multi-factor authentication.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news emailAn Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) report on data breaches, released in May and covering the second half of last year, noted a rise in the number of social engineering attacks resulting in data breaches in Australia.The attacks made up 28% of all reported breaches resulting from malicious or criminal attacks.
The OAIC noted at the time that the “significant increase” was particularly significant within Australian government agencies, which reported 60 out of the 115 breaches of that kind – a 46% increase on the previous six months.Google’s threat intelligence report in recent months has also warned of multiple threat actors using these methods to get into companies’ systems.In a June update, Nick Guttilla, from Google’s Mandiant Threat Intelligence, said threat actors first build up intelligence on their target, reviewing employee positions and titles, information about their networks, cloud and email providers, and searching for publicly exposed documentation.Some of this information can be found on company websites, as well as social media like LinkedIn.From there, threat actors may test the IT service desk, which would routinely deal with a high volume of calls from staff needing help on password resets.
According to Guttilla, attackers will see how far they can get before a staff member requests ID verification, feigning ignorance of the process to see if the staff member will relent and forgo normal procedure.Sign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksafter newsletter promotionAn attacker may also pretend their phone is unavailable and that they need urgent account access.In some attacks, they persuade an employee to install an application that helps exfiltrate the data from a system quickly.It is unknown at this stage if this is what happened in the Qantas breach.Guttilla said training staff to rigorously perform ID checks on all calls, particularly for privileged accounts with more systems access, was critical.
The minister responsible for cybersecurity, Tony Burke, did not confirm whether the Qantas attack was associated with the Scattered Spider group, but said he had been briefed and would allow the cybersecurity agencies to make announcements on any alleged culprits.“The reality is with these networks, they’ll go where they can find vulnerability,” he said.Burke said when companies relied on third parties for their systems, it made their cybersecurity obligations “more complex”.The Australian Signals Directorate was approached for comment.
First-time buyers turn from rural areas to Britain’s regional cities
With the rise of home working and surging house prices in many urban areas, one might have assumed that British cities had lost some of their appeal to homebuyers over the past decade, but it turns out the opposite is the case.An analysis of the first five months of this year shows the number of would-be first-time buyers in Great Britain looking to move to cities is up by 16% on average compared with the same period in 2015.The location to record the most significant jump in first-time buyer inquiries over that period is Dundee, Scotland’s fourth-largest city and, it is said, its sunniest.Some will be surprised to learn that homebuyers’ love affair with cities has intensified, bearing in mind that the pandemic apparently prompted many to think about a new life on the coast or in the countryside.The data was crunched by the property website Rightmove, which looked at Great Britain’s 50 largest cities, excluding London, and 50 of the most popular coastal areas
Crumbs! Biscuit museum’s Jaffa Cake display reignites old debate
It could be described as a storm in a teacup but the humble Jaffa Cake is once again at the centre of controversy after McVitie’s asked a biscuit museum to pull the snack from a display.The manufacturer took issue with the orangey treat being showcased in a museum devoted to biscuits because, for VAT purposes anyway, it is officially a cake. This fact was settled long ago in a legal battle with the taxman.The David and Goliath-style row – which some suggested had been orchestrated by McVitie’s to boost sales – has reignited the debate.Days after the biscuit museum in Bermondsey, south London, unveiled the display, McVitie’s sent it a cease-and-desist-style letter requesting “the immediate removal of Jaffa Cakes from your biscuit exhibit”
US adds 147,000 jobs in June, surpassing expectations amid Trump trade war
The US economy added 147,000 jobs in June, a sign of continuing strength in the labor market amid Donald Trump’s trade war.The number of jobs added surpassed expectations, as economists largely anticipated a drop in openings. Instead, 3,000 more jobs were added in June compared with May, according to new job figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unemployment rate actually decreased to 4.1%, down from 4
Reeves’s fearsome challenge: to balance backbenchers and bond markets
It was Bill Clinton’s political adviser James Carville, way back in the 1990s, who said that in another life he would like to “come back as the bond market” – in preference to a president or a pope – because “you can intimidate everybody”.Even Donald Trump, that most wilful of politicians, has been forced to retreat in the face of bond market moves in recent months, ditching the most extreme of his “reciprocal” tariffs after US Treasury yields jumped.And despite the traditional status of US Treasuries (government bonds) as a safe haven for global investors, it is still not clear how well financial markets will be able to swallow the $3.3tn increase in debt coming down the tracks if Trump’s “big beautiful bill” is passed.So when investors dumped gilts (UK government bonds) on Wednesday, as Rachel Reeves wept in the Commons, it was an abrupt reminder that Labour backbenchers were not the only audience the government must placate
Pound and UK bonds recovering after Starmer backs Reeves; US economy adds 147,000 jobs in June – business live
The bond market is looking calmer this morning, as traders welcome Keir Starmer’s endorsement of Rachel Reeves.The prices on UK government debt are rising in early trading, which pulls down the yield (or interest rate) on the bonds.The yield on UK 30-year bonds has dipped by 0.8% in early trading, to 5.361%
UK government bond markets rally after Starmer backs Reeves
UK government bonds have rallied after Keir Starmer backed Rachel Reeves to remain as chancellor for “a very long time” despite lingering investor concerns over a multibillion-pound hole in Britain’s public finances.The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 10-year British government bonds, also known as gilts, fell on Thursday morning to trade close to 4.5%, reversing much of the rise on Wednesday sparked by feverish speculation over Reeves’s future.The pound rose against other leading currencies, while a closely watched business survey showed that Britain’s dominant service sector recorded its fastest rate of growth in 10 months.Some of the gains were later pegged back after the release of stronger-than-anticipated US job market figures, which fuelled a rise in US government borrowing costs as investors bet the Federal Reserve may delay cutting interest rates
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