Aeroflot Grounded: Pro-Ukrainian Hackers Launch Major Cyberattack, Disrupting Russian Air Travel

A major cyberattack hit Aeroflot, Russia’s main airline, causing big trouble. Pro-Ukrainian hackers claimed responsibility for this widespread disruption. Many flights were canceled, leaving passengers stuck and causing alarm inside the Kremlin. This event shows a new side of ongoing conflict. We will look closer at what happened and what it all means.

Travel throughout Russia during the busiest summer vacation period was disrupted on Monday when Russia’s national airline, Aeroflot, was forced to cancel over 50 round-trip flights due to a massive cyberattack that was allegedly carried out by two pro-Ukrainian hacking groups.

The scenario was referred to as “alarming” by the Kremlin and as a “critical wake-up call” by Russian legislators. A criminal inquiry into the event has been launched by prosecutors, who have confirmed that the disruption was caused by a hack.

Anton Gorelkin, a senior politician, warned that “the war against our country is being waged on all fronts, including the digital one,” and attributed the strike to hostile foreign players. He went on to say that the hackers might be working for hostile nations.”

Anton Nemkin, another lawmaker, emphasised the importance of not only finding the criminals but also looking into any possible systemic security flaws that would have permitted the intrusion.

Flight boards at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow went red with cancellations, but Aeroflot refused to say how long it would take to fix the problem. By 1533 GMT, Aeroflot’s stock had dropped 3.9%, trailing the 1.3% decline in the overall market.

In a joint statement, the hacktivist collective Silent Crow and the anti-President Alexander Lukashenko Belarusian Cyberpartisans claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The announcement said: “Congratulations to Ukraine! Belarus, long live!

The Belarusian Cyberpartisans said on their website that by attacking Aeroflot and crippling Russia’s biggest airline, they were supporting Ukraine’s military effort.

There was no official comment from Ukrainian authorities.

This year, Silent Crow has already reported intrusions against a number of Russian targets, including a state telecom provider, an insurance company, a real estate database, the municipal government of Moscow’s IT department, and the South Korean automaker KIA’s Russian office. According to reports, some of these attacks resulted in serious data breaches.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said the event highlights the continued threat that hackers pose to key service providers. “What we are reading in the public domain is pretty concerning,” he said.

54 round-trip flights were cancelled, according to Aeroflot, which stated that it planned to run 206 of the 260 flights that were scheduled for the day. At the same time, Sheremetyevo Airport experienced multiple delays that lasted for several hours, according to online departure boards.