Pro-Ukraine Hackers Disrupt Russian Flight Operations
▼ Summary
– Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, canceled around 40 flights due to a technical failure, with many more delayed, disrupting travel across Russia and leaving passengers stranded.
– Russian prosecutors confirmed the disruption was caused by a cyberattack, prompting a criminal investigation, while lawmakers suggested foreign-backed hacktivists were responsible.
– Two pro-Ukrainian hacker groups, Silent Crow and Belarusian Cyberpartisans, claimed responsibility for the attack, stating it was part of a yearlong operation.
– Silent Crow claimed to have stolen Aeroflot’s flight history, audio recordings, internal calls, and surveillance data, calling the damage “strategic” and costly to repair.
– The hackers asserted they destroyed 7,000 servers and compromised employee computers, including those of senior managers, during the cyberattack.
Russia’s national airline faced major disruptions this week as a suspected cyberattack crippled its flight operations, with pro-Ukrainian hacker groups claiming responsibility for the sophisticated breach. Dozens of flights were canceled and delayed across the country, leaving passengers stranded at airports from Moscow to international destinations.
Aeroflot, the state-owned carrier, initially described the incident as a “technical failure” affecting approximately 40 flights. However, digital departure boards at Sheremetyevo International Airport displayed widespread delays, impacting domestic routes as well as flights to Minsk and Yerevan. The ripple effect caused significant travel chaos throughout Russia.
Russian authorities later confirmed the disruption stemmed from a cyberattack, with prosecutors launching a criminal investigation. Lawmaker Anton Gorelkin suggested the incident was part of a broader digital assault on Russia, possibly backed by foreign entities.
Two hacker collectives, Silent Crow and Belarusian Cyberpartisans, publicly took credit for the operation. Silent Crow claimed on Telegram that they had accessed Aeroflot’s entire flight database, including internal communications, surveillance footage, and audio recordings. The group asserted that restoring the compromised systems could cost tens of millions of dollars, calling the attack “strategically damaging.”
According to the hackers, the breach was the culmination of a year-long infiltration that allegedly destroyed thousands of servers and compromised employee workstations, including those of top executives. The Belarusian Cyberpartisans echoed these claims, framing the operation as retaliation against Russian aviation infrastructure.
The incident highlights growing concerns over cyber warfare tactics in geopolitical conflicts, with critical infrastructure increasingly becoming a target. While Aeroflot has not provided detailed comments on the hackers’ assertions, the disruption underscores vulnerabilities in national transportation networks.
(Source: Ars Technica)
