Finding former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's passport number (2020)
10 months ago
- #privacy
- #cybersecurity
- #travel
- Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott posted his boarding pass on Instagram, which contained sensitive information.
- The boarding pass's barcode and booking reference can be used to access personal details like passport numbers and phone numbers via the airline's website.
- The author investigated the security issue, finding Abbott's passport number, phone number, and internal Qantas staff comments in the webpage's HTML.
- The author contacted the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) and Qantas to report the security vulnerability.
- After months of effort, Qantas fixed the issue, and the author obtained permission from Tony Abbott to publish the findings.
- The post highlights the risks of sharing boarding passes online and the importance of digital security awareness.