Dozens of Flights Canceled Due to System Failure
Pro-Ukrainian Hacker Groups Claim Responsibility
The computer system of Aeroflot, Russia's national carrier and largest airline, was hit by a hacking attack, resulting in the mass cancellation of flights. The Kremlin expressed concern over the threat hackers pose to Russian public services. On the 28th (local time), Yonhap News reported, citing Aeroflot's Telegram announcement, that 49 round-trip flights connecting cities across Russia, including Moscow, as well as Minsk in Belarus and Yerevan in Armenia, were canceled. Following Aeroflot's announcement, Russian prosecutors launched an investigation into the disruption of Aeroflot's information system caused by the hacker attack, which led to delays of more than 80 flights and the cancellation of about 60 flights at Sheremetyevo Airport.
Russia's national carrier and largest airline, Aeroflot, experienced a hacking attack on its computer system, resulting in the cancellation of numerous flights. Photo by AFP and Yonhap News
Aeroflot urged, "Passengers of canceled flights should retrieve their checked baggage at Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport and leave the airport as quickly as possible to prevent congestion." The Russian media outlet Lenta reported that it is currently not possible to refund or change boarding passes at the airport, which also appears to be due to the system outage.
Previously, Aeroflot stated, "A disruption has occurred in the airline's information system, which may cause temporary issues with some services," and added, "As a result, unavoidable adjustments such as delays and cancellations in flight schedules are expected." This computer system failure occurred during the holiday season, when the number of air travelers had increased, exacerbating the confusion. Telegram news channels such as Baza reported scenes of stranded passengers experiencing inconvenience at the airport due to the flight cancellations. However, Aeroflot did not provide any information regarding the cause of the system failure or the timeline for recovery.
Pro-Ukrainian Hacker Groups Claim Responsibility... Kremlin Says "Concerning"
Reuters reported that pro-Ukrainian hacker groups, including "Silent Crow" and the Belarusian group "Cyberpartisans BY," claimed responsibility for the attack. The hackers claimed that, over the course of about a year, they infiltrated Aeroflot's corporate network, accessed internal data, destroyed or damaged 7,000 servers and key systems, took control of computers belonging to employees including senior managers, and obtained various data.
Reuters also reported that Silent Crow claimed to have carried out cyberattacks this year on Russian real estate, telecommunications, and insurance companies, as well as the Russian office of South Korean automaker Kia.
Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, said at a briefing that information about the Aeroflot hacking is "very concerning," and stated, "The threat of hacking persists for all large companies providing services to the public." Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Information Policy Committee, told TASS News Agency, "We must not forget that our country is at war on all fronts, including digital," emphasizing that Russian major corporations must not let their guard down regarding digital security. Since launching the "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has experienced many disruptions in flight operations, but most of these were caused by Western sanctions and Ukrainian drone attacks.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
