How ransomware caused chaos at European airports
The European Union Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA) announced that cyber attackers are using ransomware to create chaos at airports.
The identity behind the attack is unknown, but attackers frequently use ransomware to severely disrupt target systems.
They are demanding ransoms in Bitcoin to reverse the damage.
In Europe, airports in London, Brussels, Dublin, and Berlin have been experiencing delays due to cyberattacks since September 19th.
Although congestion had significantly decreased at Berlin Airport and London Heathrow Airport by Sunday, September 21st, delays and flight cancellations continued.
Brussels Airport, which was affected, said its "service provider is actively working on the issue" but that it was "unclear" when the issue would be resolved.
According to the AP news agency, airlines were asked to cancel approximately 140 of the 276 round-trip flights scheduled for Monday.
A Berlin Airport spokesperson told the BBC that some operations were still being handled manually, and there was no information on how long the electronic outage would last.
What caused the problem?
It appears the hackers behind the attack targeted a popular control software called Muse.
This software allows different airlines to use the same check-in desks and boarding gates at an airport.
Collins Aerospace has not publicly stated how long it will take to resolve the issue. The company is still labeling it a "cyber incident."
In a statement released on the morning of September 22, the software company said it was in the final stages of completing the necessary software updates.
An internal memo to Heathrow staff, seen by the BBC, states that more than a thousand computers may have been "corrupted" and that much of the work to get them back online will need to be done in person, not remotely.
The memo also states that Collins has reinstalled and rebooted its systems, but has discovered that the hackers are still inside.
In separate advice to airlines, Collins told employees not to shut down or log out of their computers if they are logged into Muse software.
The company declined to comment on the correspondence or its content.
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Ransomware attacks are a major problem for organizations worldwide, with organized cybercrime gangs generating hundreds of millions of dollars in ransomware each year.
A weak password bankrupted a 158-year-old company.
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre announced on September 20 that it was working with Collins Aerospace, the affected UK airports, the Department for Transport, and law enforcement to fully understand the impact of the incident.
According to the latest report from French aerospace company Thales, cyberattacks on the aviation sector have increased by 600 percent in the past year.
Last September, a faulty software update from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike disrupted the global aviation industry, resulting in the grounding of flights across the United States.
Analysts at the time noted that the incident highlighted the sector's vulnerability to problems with digital systems.
This report was prepared and reviewed by BBC journalists. AI was also used in its translation as part of a pilot project.