 |
|
|
|||||
Qantas said on Wednesday it is contacting customers after a cyberattack targeted a third-party customer service platform that stored the personal data of 6 million customers. Here’s what you need to know. What happened? On Monday June 30, Australia’s largest airline detected “unusual activity” on a third-party platform. It took “immediate steps and contained the system,” according to a statement. “We are continuing to investigate the proportion of the data that has been stolen, though we expect it will be significant,” Qantas said in that statement. “An initial review has confirmed the data includes some customers names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, and frequent-flier numbers.” The database did not contain credit card, personal financial information, or passport details. In addition, Qantas said that no frequent-flier accounts, passwords, personal identification numbers, or login details were accessed. The Australian airline giant said it is putting additional security measures in place to further restrict access and strengthen monitoring and detection as it investigates whether the cybercriminal group Scattered Spider is responsible for the attack, according to the Financial Times. The attack comes days after the FBI warned that the group had started to target global airlines. The warning followed recent cyberattacks on Hawaiian Airlines and Canadas WestJet, the Financial Times reported. Scattered Spider is thought to have conducted a number of high-profile data breaches, including an attack on U.K. retailer Marks and Spencer. Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said the airline was working closely with the federal government’s national cybersecurity coordinator, the Australian Cyber Security Centre, and independent specialized cybersecurity experts. What should I do if I am a Qantas customer? The airline said it was contacting all customers affected by the data breach. Customers can contact Qantas’s dedicated support line at +61 2 8028 0534 with any questions. Qantas by the numbers Shares of Qantas (ASX: QAN) fell 2.2% on Wednesday after the Australian airline confirmed the cyberattack. The airline, which trades on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), has a market capitalization of AU$15.91 billion (US$10.47 billion). In February, it reported its half-year earnings results for the period ending December 31, 2024, with an increase in underlying pretax profits, up 11% to AU$1.39 billion (US$914 million), and earnings per share (EPS) of AU$0.63 (US$0.41), up 21%.
Category:
E-Commerce
Microsoft is making a new round of deep cuts to its workforce, eliminating 9,000 jobs company-wide. The company began notifying employees of the layoffs, which will shrink the company by 4%, on Wednesday morning. While not limited to its gaming divisions, Microsofts latest cuts will impact its Xbox business. In a message to his staff, Xbox lead Phil Spencer announced that the company would end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and that the layoffs were designed to position the gaming division for future success. In Spencers memo, reported by The Verge, the head of Xbox said that his department would follow Microsofts lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness. Microsoft-owned King, the Stockholm-based mobile game studio behind Candy Crush, will also lose 200 jobs amounting to 10% of its staff, Bloomberg reports. In June, Bloomberg reported that major layoffs to Microsofts sales teams and gaming departments were looming as the fiscal year wrapped up. The cuts keep coming Microsofts new job losses follow layoffs in May and June that together culled 6,000 positions. According to Washington employment filings, software engineers bore the brunt of the May cuts, accounting for more than 40% of 2,000 jobs eliminated in the state. In June, Microsofts cuts focused on software engineers, product management and product marketing, technical program managers, and legal staff. When Microsoft last reported its numbers last year, the company had 228,000 employees. In its April quarterly earnings call, Microsoft CFO Amy Hood said that the company planned to refocus on agile teams by reducing layers with fewer managers. In spite of that goal, in a round of layoffs the following month, only 17% of roles eliminated were classified as management. Microsofts spending spree continues Microsofts flurry of layoffs is terrible news for employees, but a glance at its share price makes it clear that the company itself is feeling fine. With its stock soaring, AI projects booming, and executive compensation spiking to eye-watering new heights, Microsoft is looking to further supercharge its business, not to course correct. Through aggressive layoffs, the company aims to balance out its splashy recent spending, including new plans to invest $80 billion into AI-powered data centers in the 2025 fiscal year. Beyond its big AI bets, Microsofts gaming business is still under pressure to cut costs related to the companys $69 billion deal to buy Activision Blizzard, which closed two years ago. Between spending big on AI and leveraging the technology in its operations, its no secret that artificial intelligence is already taking a bite out of Microsofts human workforce. Earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that as much as 30% of the companys code is now written by AI rather than humans. Cloud and AI are the essential inputs for every business to expand output, reduce costs, and accelerate growth, Nadella said in the companys April earnings report. The new round of layoffs is Microsofts deepest single cut to its workforce since 2023, when it eliminated 10,000 jobs. Microsofts 2025 layoffs together have eclipsed that number, with 15,000 employees losing their jobs this year so far.
Category:
E-Commerce
From Elon Musk’s controversial Washington crusade to the Cybertruck’s flop, it’s been a bad year for Tesla. Now, the EV company is reporting a 13% decline in vehicle deliveries for its second quarter, marking the second quarterly decline in a row. On Wednesday, Tesla reported 384,122 total vehicle deliveries, down from 443,956 in the same period last year. The drop of almost 60,000 vehicles is Teslas biggest quarterly decline in the companys history, and is on par with low expectations from various analysts. The drop follows last quarter’s decline, with Tesla reporting 336,681 deliveries for this year’s first quarter, down from 386,810 the previous year. Still, the Austin-based company’s stock is up by 4.4% at the time of publishing, although it is on course for an annual drop amid ongoing challenges related to Musk’s controversies, changing policies, and an increase in EV competition. BYD takes the lead Tesla’s sales in European and Asian markets have plunged throughout the year, in part due to other EV manufacturers taking the lead as a demand for EV vehicles remains steady. Notably, Chinese EV leader BYD outpaced Tesla’s $97.7 billion in annual revenue last year, rising to $107 billion. In April, the Chinese company also outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time, selling 7,231 battery-powered electric vehicles over Tesla’s 7,165. Despite BYD’s growing popularity, its stock price has been slowly declining, with its shares down 1.4% at the time of publishing. DOGE controversy Tesla has been facing backlash following Musk’s 130-day stint as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which implemented massive layoffs and funding cuts for federal agencies. Public outrage targeted the EV maker, with protests organized outside of Tesla dealerships; videos of users trading in their Teslas going viral on social media; and overall mockery and pranks surrounding Tesla vehicles. Additionally, discontent from the CEO’s political alignment led to sales declines in key U.S. markets like California. Despite a slight rise in Tesla’s stock following Musk’s departure from DOGE, public trust in the company and sales have not recovered. Changing policies and a presidential feud After Musk stepped down as head of DOGE, the former adviser and President Trump entered into a feud over the proposed “Big Beautiful Bill.” The budget bill, which Musk called a disgusting abomination,” plans to cut EV tax credits, which would likely hurt Tesla’s sales. Since then, tensions between Musk and the president have risen, with both sharing insults, allegations and exchanges via social media, while Tesla’s stock plummeted. Early last month, the company’s share price fell as much as 15% (it has since slowly recovered). Tesla, whose current market capitalization is upward of $1 trillion, is expected to release its second quarter financial results on July 23 after market close.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||