- Japan Airlines experienced a major network outage
- Investigation uncovered a cyberattack by an unknown threat actor
- The attack lasted a few hours and caused delays on some flights
Japan Airlines has confirmed that it suffered a cyber attack that caused widespread system outages and delays on more than 20 domestic flights.
The airline first noticed something was wrong when a part of the network connecting internal and external systems failed. A brief investigation determined that a threat actor attempted to overwhelm the network by sending huge data transmissions, similar to a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.
Today, DDoS attacks are used as a distraction while attackers deploy malware, or even ransomware, to other parts of the network. Alternatively, criminals can contact victims, sometimes even by phone, to demand a ransom in exchange for stopping the DDoS.
No malware involved?
However, Japan Airlines said the attack did not result in malware deployment or data theft. The only damage included the delay of 24 domestic flights for about half an hour. The company also suspended the sale of tickets for both domestic and international flights for a few hours. The safety of the flight was not affected, he added.
He AP He also reported that the country’s Ministry of Transportation urged Japan Airlines to hurry up and restore the systems, accommodating the affected passengers, since other national airlines, such as All Nippon Airways, Skymark or Starflyer, were not affected by the incident.
At press time, no threatening actor has claimed responsibility for the attack, so we still do not know the motive. The holidays are the usual time of year when criminals increasingly target critical infrastructure companies. As businesses experience an increase in traffic and at the same time have many staff on annual leave, they become a prime target for ransom demands.
In January 2024, one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies, AerCap, suffered a ransomware attack that resulted in the theft of sensitive corporate data, and in March, Air Europa suffered the same.
Through AP
