United News of Bangladesh

A cyberattack on Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot disrupted its computer systems on Monday, forcing the cancellation of over 100 flights and delaying many others, Russia’s Prosecutor’s Office said. Ukrainian hacker group Silent Crow and Belarusian group Belarus Cyber-Partisans claimed responsibility, calling it one of the most damaging cyberattacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Aeroflot confirmed system difficulties early Monday, warning of possible disruptions. Crowds of delayed passengers were seen at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. The outage also affected Aeroflot subsidiaries Rossiya and Pobeda. Four killed in escalating Russia-Ukraine aerial attacks While most cancelled flights were domestic, some international routes to Belarus, Armenia, and Uzbekistan were also hit. Silent Crow claimed it had accessed Aeroflot's internal network for a year, stealing customer data, employee surveillance records, and internal communications. “These resources are now inaccessible or destroyed,” the group said on Telegram, adding the damage could cost millions to fix. They also suggested they might soon leak the stolen data, saying, “The personal data of all Russians who have ever flown with Aeroflot have now also gone on a trip — albeit without luggage.” The Belarus Cyber-Partisans said they aimed to cause serious disruption and had worked for months to exploit vulnerabilities in Aeroflot's systems. Russia’s Prosecutor’s Office has launched a criminal investigation. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the attack “quite alarming,” noting that cyber threats remain a serious concern for major service providers. The incident adds to an already tense summer for Russia’s airports, which have faced multiple disruptions due to Ukrainian drone attacks.

Japan Airlines said it was hit by a cyberattack Thursday, causing delays to more than 20 domestic flights but the carrier said it was able to stop the onslaught and restore its systems hours later. There was no impact on flight safety, it said. JAL said the problem started Thursday morning when the company's network connecting internal and external systems began malfunctioning. The airline said it was able to identify the cause as an attack intended to overwhelm the network system with massive transmissions of data. Such attacks flood a system or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or crashes. The attack did not involve a virus or cause any customer data leaks, JAL said. It said that as of late morning, the cyberattack had delayed 24 domestic flights for more than 30 minutes. Experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the vulnerability of Japan's cybersecurity, especially as the country steps up its defense capabilities and works more closely with the United States and other partners with much tighter cyber defenses. Japan has taken steps but experts say more work is needed. Read: Bangladesh, India to collaborate with each other to combat cyberattacks: Palak In June, Japan's space agency said it had suffered a series of cyberattacks since 2023, though sensitive information related to rockets, satellites and defense was not affected. It was investigating to take preventive measures. Last year, a cyberattack paralyzed operations at a container terminal at a port in the city of Nagoya for three days. JAL's ticket sales for both domestic and international fights scheduled for departure on Thursday were suspended temporarily but resumed several hours later. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular news conference Thursday that the transport ministry told JAL to hasten efforts to restore the system and to accommodate affected passengers. Other Japanese airlines, including ANA Holdings, Skymark and Starflyer, were not affected. Television footage showed many passengers at Tokyo's Haneda airport crowded into its terminals as the attack hit the year-end holiday travel season. Offices will close from this weekend for the New Year holidays, the biggest celebration of the year, when millions of people travel back to their hometowns from the cities.

Japan Airlines said it was hit by a cyberattack Thursday, causing delays to more than 20 domestic flights but the carrier said it was able to stop the onslaught and restore its systems hours later. There was no impact on flight safety, it said. JAL said the problem started Thursday morning when the company's network connecting internal and external systems began malfunctioning. The airline said it was able to identify the cause as an attack intended to overwhelm the network system with massive transmissions of data. Such attacks flood a system or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or crashes. The attack did not involve a virus or cause any customer data leaks, JAL said. It said that as of late morning, the cyberattack had delayed 24 domestic flights for more than 30 minutes. Experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the vulnerability of Japan's cybersecurity, especially as the country steps up its defense capabilities and works more closely with the United States and other partners with much tighter cyber defenses. Japan has taken steps but experts say more work is needed. Iran restores access to WhatsApp and Google Play after they were banned amid protests In June, Japan's space agency said it had suffered a series of cyberattacks since 2023, though sensitive information related to rockets, satellites and defense was not affected. It was investigating to take preventive measures. Last year, a cyberattack paralyzed operations at a container terminal at a port in the city of Nagoya for three days. JAL's ticket sales for both domestic and international fights scheduled for departure on Thursday were suspended temporarily but resumed several hours later. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular news conference Thursday that the transport ministry told JAL to hasten efforts to restore the system and to accommodate affected passengers. Other Japanese airlines, including ANA Holdings, Skymark and Starflyer, were not affected. Television footage showed many passengers at Tokyo's Haneda airport crowded into its terminals as the attack hit the year-end holiday travel season. Offices will close from this weekend for the New Year holidays, the biggest celebration of the year, when millions of people travel back to their hometowns from the cities.

Iran's telecommunications minister announced on Sunday that the country has defused a second cyberattack in less than a week, this time "aimed at spying on government intelligence."