Pro-Ukrainian hackers take credit for attack that snarls Russian flight travel

In a significant disruption to air travel in Russia, Aeroflot, the country's largest airline, was forced to cancel approximately 40 flights due to a failure in its IT systems, which has been attributed to a cyberattack. This incident, reported widely, has left many travelers stranded at airports across the nation as delays compounded the situation. The chaos was particularly evident at Sheremetyevo Airport, where numerous flights were delayed, impacting both domestic and international routes, including those to Minsk, Belarus, and Yerevan, Armenia. Russian prosecutors have acknowledged the nature of the disruption as a hack and have initiated a criminal investigation to uncover the details behind the attack. Russian lawmakers, including Anton Gorelkin, have suggested that this incident reflects a broader trend of cyber threats facing the nation, potentially linked to hostile entities. Adding to the complexity, two pro-Ukrainian hacker groups have claimed responsibility for the attack. Silent Crow, one of the groups, announced via Telegram that they had accessed and copied extensive data from Aeroflot, including flight history and internal communications. The hackers asserted that the recovery from this breach could cost the airline tens of millions of dollars, emphasizing the strategic significance of the damage inflicted. They revealed that their operation had been ongoing for a year, allowing them to infiltrate Aeroflot's network, compromise 7,000 servers, and gain control over the computers of key personnel, including senior management. This incident not only highlights the increasing risks of cyber warfare but also the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure in times of geopolitical tension.