Latest news with #pro-Ukrainian
Qatar Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Pro-Ukraine hackers hit Moscow airport, leaving 60 flights cancelled
DPA Moscow Dozens of flights were cancelled in Moscow on Monday following a suspected cyberattack by pro-Ukrainian hacker groups. The Russian state airline Aeroflot initially reported around 60 cancelled flights at Sheremetyevo Airport, citing a disruption in its IT systems as the cause. Company experts were working to restore server operations to resume scheduled flights, it said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the reports as alarming. 'The threat from hackers is a danger faced by all major companies serving the public,' he said, according to the Interfax news agency. Pro-Ukrainian hackers from the groups Silent Crow and Cyber Partisans BY claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that their operation against Aeroflot had been in preparation for a year. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has launched a criminal investigation into the illegal intrusion into computer systems. Ukrainian media also quoted statements from the hackers, who claimed responsibility for a 'strategic strike' against Russia's largest airline. They said they had taken control of the entire IT infrastructure and destroyed 7,000 servers. The hackers claimed to have collected 12 terabytes of data. They also sent a message to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and other cybersecurity agencies in Moscow, stating that they were incapable of protecting critical IT infrastructure. Passengers hoping to travel for holidays were stranded at Sheremetyevo Airport and were asked to monitor announcements on the travel boards. Hundreds had to reclaim their luggage and leave the airport. Both domestic and international flights were affected. In recent weeks, there have been repeated disruptions to Russian air traffic, including at Moscow's other major airports - Domodedovo, Vnukovo and Zhukovsky - due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks. Airlines have reported significant losses due to frequent airspace closures. In Ukraine, however, passenger flights have not been possible for more than three years due to the Russian war of aggression. Ukrainian commentators noted that Russians are now experiencing what it feels like to be unable to fly for holidays.
Observer
2 days ago
- Politics
- Observer
Russia's Aeroflot cancels flights over massive cyberattack
MOSCOW: Russian national flag carrier Aeroflot was forced to cancel dozens of flights on Monday after a crippling cyberattack claimed by a shadowy pro-Ukrainian hacking group, which one lawmaker called a wake-up call for Moscow. The Kremlin said the situation was worrying and prosecutors confirmed the disruption was the result of a hack and opened a criminal investigation. Senior lawmaker Anton Gorelkin said that Russia was under digital attack. "We must not forget that the war against our country is being waged on all fronts, including the digital one. And I do not rule out that the 'hacktivists' who claimed responsibility for the incident are in the service of unfriendly states," Gorelkin said in a statement. Aeroflot did not say how long the problems would take to resolve, but departure boards at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport turned red as flights were cancelled at a time when many Russians take their holidays. A statement purporting to be from a hacking group called Silent Crow said it had carried out the operation together with a Belarusian group called Cyberpartisans BY, and linked it to the war in Ukraine. "Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!" said the statement, whose authenticity Reuters could not immediately verify. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Silent Crow has previously claimed responsibility for attacks this year on a Russian real estate database, a state telecoms company, a large insurance firm, the Moscow government's IT department and the Russian office of South Korean carmaker KIA. Some of those resulted in big data leaks. "The information that we are reading in the public domain is quite alarming. The hacker threat is a threat that remains for all large companies providing services to the population," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Aeroflot, the transport ministry and the aviation regulator did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the hack. The airline said it had cancelled more than 40 flights — mostly within Russia but also including routes to the Belarusian capital Minsk and the Armenian capital Yerevan — after reporting a failure in its information systems. At least 10 other flights were delayed. "Specialists are currently working to minimise the impact on the flight schedule and to restore normal service operations," it said. The statement in the name of Silent Crow said the cyberattack was the result of a year-long operation which had deeply penetrated Aeroflot's network, destroyed 7,000 servers and gained control over the personal computers of employees, including senior managers. It published screenshots of file directories purportedly from inside Aeroflot's network and threatened to shortly start releasing "the personal data of all Russians who have ever flown Aeroflot". Since Russia launched its war in Ukraine in February 2022, travellers in Russia have become accustomed to flight disruptions. However, those delays have usually been caused by temporary airport closures during drone attacks. Irate passengers vented their anger on social network VK, complaining about a lack of clear information from the airline. Malena Ashi wrote: "I've been sitting at Volgograd airport since 3:30!!!!! The flight has been rescheduled for the third time!!!!!! This time it was rescheduled for approximately 14:50, and it was supposed to depart at 5:00!!!" Another woman, Yulia Pakhota, posted: "The call centre is unavailable, the website is unavailable, the app is unavailable. How can I return a ticket or exchange it for the next flight, as Aeroflot suggests?" Aeroflot said affected passengers could get a refund or rebook as soon as its systems were up and running and that it was trying to get some affected passengers seats on other airlines. Despite Western sanctions on Russia that have drastically limited travel and routes, Aeroflot remains among the top 20 airlines worldwide by passenger numbers, which last year hit 55.3 million people, according to its website. — Reuters
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
'Partisans' who paralyzed Russian airports have track record of disruptive hacks
FILE PHOTO: An Aeroflot passenger plane descends before landing at the Sheremetyevo international airport outside Moscow, Russia, August 23, 2023. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo WASHINGTON - One of the groups claiming responsibility for the digital sabotage at Aeroflot, Russia's flagship airline, has a track record of disruptive hacks. The Belarusian Cyber Partisans – a long-established group sworn to overthrow Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko – joined with a more obscure group known as Silent Crow to claim responsibility for the crippling intrusion at Aeroflot that canceled dozens of flights on Monday and led to travel disruptions across Russia. First emerging in 2020 in the wake of mass demonstrations against Lukashenko's reelection, the Cyber Partisans have claimed responsibility for a series of eye-catching hacks, including the defacement of Belarusian state media sites, repeated thefts of law enforcement data, and a 2022 attack against Belarusian Railway that they said had interfered with freight travel. Last year, the group claimed repeated attacks on fertilizer complex Grodno Azot, where they said they had tampered with the operations of the plant's boiler. Reuters has not been able to independently authenticate all the group's claims or measure its disruptive impact, but the data stolen by the hackers has in the past been cross-checked and validated by groups such as Bellingcat, the open source investigators. Yuliana Shemetovets, a spokesperson for the Cyber Partisans, told Reuters on Monday that she operates from the United States and said the group consisted of around 30 core members, mostly operating from outside of Belarus. Silent Crow has a lower profile. It has claimed responsibility for attacks this year on a Russian real estate database, a state telecoms company, a large insurance firm, the Moscow government's IT department, and the Russian office of South Korean carmaker KIA. Russian cybersecurity firm has been tracking Silent Crow as a politically motivated group, active since mid-2022, with potential links to multiple pro-Ukrainian hacker groups, according to an entry in public database. Ukraine and Russia have been at war since Russia invaded in February 2022. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia Cambodia, Thailand agree to 'immediate and unconditional ceasefire' to de-escalate border row Singapore Tanjong Katong sinkhole: Road recovery works progressing steadily, tests under way Singapore ST Explains: What we know about the Tanjong Katong sinkhole so far Singapore Foreign workers who rescued woman from sinkhole given tokens of appreciation Sport Gan Ching Hwee breaks 2 national records, qualifies for World Aquatics C'ships 1,500m final Asia Gunman kills 5 near Bangkok's Chatuchak market before taking own life Business SIA Q1 profit falls 59%; airline group sees volatile times ahead Singapore Man exposed daughter's identity despite court order after she was removed from his care Reuters was unable to immediately contact Silent Crow and did not immediately return a request seeking comment. Members of the Belarusian Cyber Partisans may also have pro-Ukraine ties. In June, researchers with Russian anti-virus firm Kaspersky said they had identified a suspected member of the group active in a Telegram group devoted to the "IT Army of Ukraine," a group of pro-Ukrainian hackers backed by the government in Kyiv. Shemetovets told Reuters that there was no collaboration between the Cyber Partisans and any state security or intelligence services as part of the attack on Aeroflot. Andrii Baranovych, a fixture of the Ukrainian hacker scene, said independent groups often hand stolen data over to Ukraine's intelligence service but that as far as he was aware there was no state backing for the attack on Aeroflot. REUTERS
UPI
2 days ago
- Business
- UPI
Russian airline Aeroflot cancels flights after as pro-Ukraine group claims hack
Russia's Aeroflot canceled flights after a pro-Ukrainian group claimed an attack on the airline. File Photo by Etienne Laurent/EPA July 28 (UPI) -- A cyber attack on Russia's largest airline on Monday saw dozens of canceled flights after a pro-Ukraine team took responsibility for hacking airline computer systems. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called it "quite alarming" after at least 42 scheduled Aeroflot flights largely domestic in Russia got canceled. Aeroflot officials gave no specific details or how long it would take to restore its mainframe after officials informed passengers of a "failure" in its tech systems advising service disruptions, but did warn travelers of delays and cancellations. The airline said its tech teams were "actively working to minimize the impact on flight operations and restore all services to normal as quickly as possible." "We kindly ask passengers to monitor real-time updates on airport websites, information displays, and public announcements across the airline's route network," the airline said in a statement. Aeroflot's cyber-security attack was a direct result of Russia's full-on invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the hacker group calling itself "Silent Crow" confirmed. Russia's prosecutor general's office also confirmed that Aeroflot's technological issues were a result of a virtual attack on its computer systems and stated that a criminal investigation is underway. Silent Crow says it worked with a separate group based in Belarus called "Cyber Partisans BY." They pressed unverified claimed of access to flight history data, that it destroyed roughly 7,000 Aeroflot servers, compromised its corporate computer structure and further threatened to released "the personal data of all Russians who have ever flown Aeroflot." On its Telegram channel, Silent Crow wrote how for a year, "we were inside their corporate network, methodically developing access, going deep into the very core of the infrastructure." Meanwhile, Aeroflot partner air carries Rossiya and Probed have not reported any technological issues. The cyber attack on Russia's flag air carrier arrived weeks after another on Australian airline Qantas exposed the data of six million customers. That followed a similar event at the end of June on Hawaiian Airlines by a group FBI officials believe to be young adults and teens living in the United States and Britain. "Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!" Silent Crow said in a statement.
Dubai Eye
2 days ago
- Politics
- Dubai Eye
Russia's Aeroflot cancels flights after pro-Ukrainian hackers claim cyberattack
Russian national flag carrier Aeroflot was forced to cancel dozens of flights on Monday after a crippling cyberattack claimed by a pro-Ukrainian hacking group, which one lawmaker called a wake-up call for Moscow. The Kremlin said the situation was worrying and prosecutors confirmed the disruption was the result of a hack and opened a criminal investigation. Senior lawmaker Anton Gorelkin said that Russia was under digital attack. "We must not forget that the war against our country is being waged on all fronts, including the digital one. And I do not rule out that the 'hacktivists' who claimed responsibility for the incident are in the service of unfriendly states," Gorelkin said in a statement. Aeroflot did not say how long the problems would take to resolve, but departure boards at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport turned red as flights were cancelled at a time when many Russians take their holidays. A statement purporting to be from a hacking group called Silent Crow said it had carried out the operation together with a Belarusian group called Cyberpartisans BY, and linked it to the war in Ukraine. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Silent Crow has previously claimed responsibility for attacks this year on a Russian real estate database, a state telecoms company, a large insurance firm, the Moscow government's IT department and the Russian office of South Korean carmaker KIA. Some of those resulted in big data leaks. "The information that we are reading in the public domain is quite alarming. The hacker threat is a threat that remains for all large companies providing services to the population," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Aeroflot, the transport ministry and the aviation regulator did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the hack. The airline said it had cancelled more than 40 flights - mostly within Russia but also including routes to the Belarusian capital Minsk and the Armenian capital Yerevan - after reporting a failure in its information systems. At least 10 other flights were delayed. "Specialists are currently working to minimise the impact on the flight schedule and to restore normal service operations," it said. The statement in the name of Silent Crow said the cyberattack was the result of a year-long operation which had deeply penetrated Aeroflot's network, destroyed 7,000 servers and gained control over the personal computers of employees, including senior managers. It published screenshots of file directories purportedly from inside Aeroflot's network and threatened to shortly start releasing "the personal data of all Russians who have ever flown Aeroflot".
