What Qantas customers should do next following the cyberattack

Analysis: With up to six million Qantas customer records exposed to cybercriminals, a vast number of Australians will today be worried about what it means for them, and what to do next.

Qantas has confirmed the data breach occurred on Monday and that the system that was accessed contained the details of some six million customers.

What we do know is that no financial details, passwords or PIN details were part of the breach.

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However, while we don't yet know just how many records were downloaded from the system, Qantas' statement that "we expect it to be significant" is a clear indication that a large amount of data was stolen, potentially millions of records.

If you're a Qantas customer, or have flown with the airline, those records would likely contain your name, your email address, phone number, date of birth and Frequent Flyer number.

While that might not seem like a problem, the real risk now is scammers.

Scammers will try and access people's Frequent Flyer accounts and conduct "phishing" attacks where they pretend to be Qantas and con you out of more personal information or credit card details.

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What steps should I take as a Qantas customer?

The simple advice here is do not click any link within any communication that claims to be from Qantas.

While Qantas will certainly be communicating with customers over the hours and days ahead, there should be no "action" required on your part.

So any email that claims your flight is delayed, changed, or your details are personally compromised should be taken only as information.

Do NOT click on any link within these types of communications.

If you do have a flight, and are worried the message may be accurate, login to the Qantas website directly or the Qantas app and check for yourself.

There's no reason to rush to change your password now, and again, the risk is greater that you receive a message telling you to do that.

The scam here will be a text message telling you that you urgently need to update some information, be that a password, a payment detail or otherwise, and you will be concerned about it, click - think it really is Qantas - but it's not.

So, the most important thing right now is to be hypervigilant and overcautious with any communication regarding travel from Qantas, be that a phone call, text message or email.

If you have any concerns, take advantage of the dedicated support line Qantas has set up for customers: 1800 971 541 or +61 2 8028 0534, which is available 24/7.