Russian-speaking hackers have reportedly hacked the websites of major airports in the US, leaving them temporarily inaccessible.
Websites at 14 airports were hit by the cyber-attack, with many of them now restored.
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Airport operations were not affected by the breach.
Speaking to ABC News, a senior official said that the impacted systems do not manage air traffic control, internal airline communications and coordination or transportation security.
The cyber-attack, called denial of service (DoS), was designed to disrupt systems that are used by people to check flight timings and other information.
Port Authority was the first to inform the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency about LaGuardia Airport (LGA) system breach at around 3am.
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By GlobalDataLater, the websites for Des Moines International Airport (DSM), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) were attacked by the hackers.
The website of Denver International Airport (DEN) was also compromised.
The airport spokesperson was quoted by the publication as saying: “Similar to many other US airports, DEN’s website has been targeted. The attacks began around 11am this morning, and they continue. The attackers are attempting to overwhelm our website so that it becomes unavailable to the public.”
“At this time, the attacks have not been impactful, though we are closely monitoring these attacks and any others. We are also sharing information on these attacks with TSA, CISA and other airports.”
Cybersecurity company Mandiant intelligence analysis head John Hultquist told the publication that a pro-Russian hacker group called ‘Killnet’ could be behind the attack.
However, there is no evidence of the group’s ties to the Russian Government.
