Russia's Airline Gets Hobbled By Potent Cyberattack, Kremlin Calls Attack 'Quite Alarming'
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot canceled more than 100 flights on Monday after a crippling cyberattack that two pro‑Ukraine hacking groups claimed as their work, disrupting travel across the world's largest country.
What Happened: According to a report by the Associated Press, the groups, Silent Crow and the Belarus Cyber‑Partisans, said they penetrated the airline's systems, forcing widespread outages.
Aeroflot acknowledged problems but did not detail the cause. "In a statement released early Monday, Aeroflot warned passengers that the company's information technology system was experiencing unspecified difficulties and that disruption could follow."
Russia's Prosecutor's Office later said a cyberattack caused the outage and opened a criminal probe. The Kremlin called the incident "quite alarming."
Social media images of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport showed crowds of stranded travelers, and delays also hit Aeroflot subsidiaries Rossiya and Pobeda, with some international flights to Belarus, Armenia and Uzbekistan affected.
Silent Crow said it had been inside Aeroflot's corporate network for a year and claimed to have copied internal and customer data before destroying resources, assertions news outlets could not immediately verify. The Belarus Cyber‑Partisans called the operation one of their most consequential, saying they exploited multiple vulnerabilities over months. The group based out of Belarus told AP their aim was to “deliver a crushing blow.”
Why It Matters: The Associated Press noted Russia has previously faced disruptive attacks on government sites and state companies such as Russian Railways, while airports have endured periodic shutdowns tied to drone threats. Ukrainian drone attacks have also repeatedly caused mass delays at Russia's airports this summer, grounding flights amid safety concerns.
Cyber disruptions to aviation aren't unique to Russia. The Seattle‑Tacoma International Airport, operated by the Port Of Seattle, was snarled by a cyberattack last year, although flight operations weren’t affected at the time.
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