B2 – Upper Intermediate
Australia’s flag carrier Qantas Airways got into hot water for apparent breach in their passengers’ data privacy wherein some of the app’s users saw boarding passes and flight details of other passengers. Some information included their names, scheduled flights, and frequent flyer details.
The airline denied cyber security issues and said they were able to fix the problem in just a few hours after the glitch was detected.
Read the article about Qantas’ privacy breach on its passenger app. Be ready to answer the questions that follow.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-68925710
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “privacy breach” mean? “Australian airline Qantas says it is investigating a privacy breach on its app that left customers with access to others’ personal details.” Use this phrase in a sentence.
- Define “glitch”. “Users on X, formerly Twitter, shared screenshots of the glitch and alleged phishing attempts.” Use this word in a sentence.
- What does ”pose” mean in this context, ”Some appeared to show accounts posing as Qantas customer care agents asking for people’s personal information in order to assist them.” Use this word in this context in a sentence.
Discussion Questions:
- As an airline passenger, what did you think of this news?
- If you happen to come across other people’s personal info and flight details on an airline app, what do you think you would do?
- Qantas was quick to dismiss cybersecurity problems related to this incident. What do you think of this?
- Share your thoughts on how Qantas handled this incident.
- Have you ever had any issues on any apps? Share about that experience.
- Share about similar privacy breach incidents you’ve heard of.