Nothing tests a consumer’s fragile faith or a company’s integrity quite like a cyberattack. Qantas’ brand is in a particularly precarious position given it is in the process of restoration after a couple of years of neglect.

For Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson, the theft of personal information of an estimated six million of her customers represents a significant blow to the progress of the company’s rehabilitation.

Qantas has been the target of a cyberattack.Credit: Bloomberg

And there is something deeply personal about a breach of one’s confidential data that creates a particular brand of vulnerability and fury among those affected.

Since 2022’s famous Optus data hack that led to the departure of its chief executive, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Australians have become increasingly familiar with receiving that dreaded email that says: “I’m writing to inform you that we believe your personal information was accessed during the cyber incident we recently experienced.”

How Qantas weathers this attack will depend in large part on whether it is perceived as villain or........

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