On Monday, July 28, the Russian airline company Aeroflot was hit by a large-scale cyber attack, forcing the cancellation of 54 round-trip flights. This seriously disrupted the domestic travel plans of many Russians.
The departure flight board at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow displayed delays of several hours for dozens of flights. Aeroflot stated that they are working to restore the system and still plan to operate the remaining 206 out of the 260 flights scheduled for Monday. Affected passengers are offered ticket refunds or rebooking options, and are advised to try to arrange seats with other airlines.
Following the incident, Russian passengers took to the social media platform VK expressing their anger. Malena Ashi posted that flights were rescheduled multiple times, resulting in being stranded at Volgograd Airport for over 10 hours; Yulia Pakhota complained that she couldn’t reach the airline to request a refund or rebooking.
According to Reuters, a hacker group named “Silent Crow” stated in a release that they collaborated with the “Belarusian Cyberpartisans,” who oppose Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and aim to liberate Belarus from dictatorship, to carry out this operation.
The statement ended with the slogan: “Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!”
The hacker group “Belarusian Cyberpartisans” also posted on their website saying: “We are helping Ukrainians fight against aggressors, launching a cyber attack on Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, to cripple them.”
The “Belarusian Cyberpartisans” hacker group opposes Belarusian President Lukashenko and aims to liberate Belarus from dictatorship.
The Moscow Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that the flight disruption was caused by a hacker attack and has initiated a criminal investigation into the matter.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented: “The information we have read in the public domain is very concerning. Hacker threats are a persistent threat to all major companies providing services to the public.”
【Direct News】Production Team