Russia’s Aeroflot cancels flights after pro-Ukraine hackers claim cyber-attack | Airline industry

Russian airline Aeroflotu said that the responsibility of hacking its goals in Russia carried out a cyber attack.

Aeroflot did not give any more details about the cause or how to solve the problem, but the departure boards at Moscow’s Shemetyevo Airport returned to red as many Russian holidays were canceled at a time when flights were canceled.

The Kremlin said the situation is worrying and that prosecutors have confirmed that the airline’s problems are a hacking result and opened a criminal investigation.

A statement allegedly from a hacking group called Silent Crow, said the operation was carried out with a Belarus group called Cyber Partizan and connected it to the war in Ukraine.

“Victory to Ukraine! Long Live Belarus!” the statement said.

Silent Crow previously demanded responsibility for attacks in a Russian real estate database, a state telekom company, a large insurance company, Moscow government’s IT department and South Korean car manufacturer Kia’s Russian office. Some of them resulted in large data leaks.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “The information we read in the public sphere is very worrying. The threat of hacker is a threat to all major companies serving the population,” he said.

“Of course we will clarify the information and wait for appropriate explanations.”

According to Reuters, Aeroflot, the Ministry of Transport and the Aviation Regulator did not respond immediately to comments on the claim of hacking.

Cyber Security Company Sophos’da threat intelligence director Rafe Porting, the attack was directed by political motives, he said.

“It seems like a hacktivist who has been politically motivated against Russia against Russia,” he said.

The explosion, despite the claims that Silent Crow has access to personal data of Aeroflot customers, the attack is not financially motivated – unlike the ransom software attacks that crippled computer systems of a target and siphon data for financial earnings.

Orum I have the impression that their goals are not a cyber crime ransom software attack, ”he said. “Probably more of a deterioration protest.”

Icing, cyber partizans, existing since the beginning of the decade and depending on the attacks for a longer time, longer has appeared to have been on the hacking scene, he added.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it became a part of Kiev’s fighting with a group of 300,000 people called “Ukrainian Army ında in the telegram of hacking and chat application.

The airline, mostly canceled more than 50 flights in Russia, and at the same time reporting a failure in information systems, the Belarus capital Minsk and Armenian capital of Yerevan’a also included roads, he said. At least 10 more flights were postponed.

“Experts are currently trying to minimize the impact on the flight program and to restore normal service operations,” he said.

The statement on behalf of Silent Crow, the cyber attack, Aeroflot’un network in depth penetration, 7,000 servers, and senior executives, including employers’ personal computers, including a year -long operation, he said. It did not provide evidence.

In short, Aeroflot so far threatened to start publishing the personal data of all flying Russians ”.

Since Russia started its war in Ukraine in February 2022, travelers in Russia have been accustomed to flight cuts. However, these delays are usually caused by temporary airport closes during drone attacks.

Angry passengers, complaining about the lack of information from the airline, the social network vk ventilated their anger.

Malena Ashi wrote: “I have been sitting at Volgograd Airport since 3:30 !!!!! The flight has been re -planned for the third time !!!!!! This time it was planned for about 14:50 and it had to be separated at 5:00 !!!

Another traveler, Yulia Pakhota said: “The call center cannot be used, the website cannot be used, the application cannot be used.

As Aeroflot suggests, how can I return a ticket or change it for the next flight? “

Aeroflot said that affected passengers could pay back or re -book within 10 days.

According to the website, despite the Western sanctions imposed on Russia to a large extent limited travel and routes, Aeroflot is among the top 20 airline companies worldwide of the passenger numbers reaching 55.3 million people last year.