Tag Archive for: airport

Hackers took down U.S. airport websites, Department of Homeland Security confirms

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Unknown hackers attacked and temporarily shut down the public-facing websites of at least several major U.S. airports on Monday, a Department of Homeland Security official confirmed to USA TODAY.

The official from DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, declined to comment on who might have been behind what appeared to be a coordinated series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) incidents, which did not affect the actual operations of the airports or planes flying into and out of them.

“CISA is aware of reports of DDoS attacks targeting multiple U.S. airport websites. We are coordinating with potentially impacted entities and offering assistance as needed,” said the official, who declined to speak on the record or provide any more information about the cyberattacks and who might have been responsible.

Russian-speaking “hacktivists” from a group calling itself KillNet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which took down websites at 14 airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), according to the official Twitter account of the Russian service of the Voice of America.

Hackers can overwhelm computer servers by sending them many thousands of requests at the same time, disrupting companies and organizations.

Hackers can overwhelm computer servers by sending them many thousands of requests at the same time, disrupting companies and organizations.

DDoS attacks are used to overwhelm computer servers by sending them many thousands of requests at the same time, according to CISA. In this case, the servers hosting the airport sites were swamped with thousands of requests, making it all but impossible for travelers to connect and to get updates about their scheduled flights or book airport services, according to Frank Cilluffo, a former White House cybersecurity official. 

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Cilluffo said such attacks usually are intended to generate attention rather than to cause significant destruction or even disruption, such as taking down airport operations.

“But they are not trivial and in this case they could be the beginnings of a larger trend,” said Cilluffo, director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security at Auburn…

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Pro-Russian hackers claim responsibility for knocking U.S. airport websites offline

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A pro-Russian hacker group is taking credit for temporarily taking down several U.S. airport websites on Monday, though there appeared to be no impact on flight operations.

The cyberattacks claimed by Killnet impacted the websites for Los Angeles International, Chicago O’Hare, and Hartsfield-Jackson International in Atlanta, among others.

The group posted a list of airports on Telegram, urging hackers to participate in what’s known as a DDoS attack — a distributed denial-of-service caused when a computer network is flooded by simultaneous data transmissions.

The group’s call to action included airports across the country, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Missouri.

It was not immediately clear how many of the airports were actually hit and whether all victims’ sites suffered any disruptions.

In a statement, LAX officials told NPR that FlyLAX.com was partially disrupted early Monday morning.

“The service interruption was limited to portions of the public facing FlyLAX.com website only. No internal airport systems were compromised and there were no operational disruptions,” a spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.

She added that the airport’s information technology team has restored all services and is investigating the cause. Officials have also notified the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration.

By about 1 p.m. in Atlanta, authorities said ATL.com was “up and running after an incident early this morning that made it inaccessible to the public.” But people on Twitter continued to complain about parts of the site being inaccessible for several hours after the announcement had been made.

Atlanta airport officials said no airport operations had been impacted.

In an earlier post on Monday, Killnet noted other vulnerable U.S. sites that could succumb to similar DDoS strikes, include sea terminals and logistics facilities, weather monitoring centers, health care systems, subway systems, and exchanges and online…

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Hackers took down U.S. airport web sites, Department of Homeland Security confirms

/in


Unknown hackers attacked and temporarily shut down the public-facing websites of at least several major U.S. airports on Monday, a Department of Homeland Security official confirmed to USA TODAY.

The official from DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or CISA, declined to comment on who might have been behind what appeared to be a coordinated series of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) incidents, which did not affect the actual operations of the airports or planes flying into and out of them.

“CISA is aware of reports of DDoS attacks targeting multiple U.S. airport websites. We are coordinating with potentially impacted entities and offering assistance as needed,” said the official, who declined to speak on the record or provide any more information about the cyber attacks and who might have been responsible.

Russian-speaking “hacktivists” from a group calling itself KillNet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which temporarily took down websites at 14 airports, including the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), according to the official Twitter account of the Russian service of the Voice of America.

A recently discovered cyber attack, most likely tied to Russia, has the potential to affect many companies and organizations.

A recently discovered cyber attack, most likely tied to Russia, has the potential to affect many companies and organizations.

DDoS attacks are used to overwhelm computer servers by sending them many thousands of requests at the same time, according to CISA. In this case, the servers hosting the airport sites were swamped with thousands of requests, making it all but impossible for travelers to connect and to get updates about their scheduled flights or book airport services, according to Frank Cilluffo, a former White House cybersecurity official. 

Smart analysis delivered to your inbox: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

Cilluffo said such DDoS attacks usually are intended to generate attention rather than to cause significant destruction or even disruption, such as taking down the operations of airports.

“But they are not trivial and in this case they could be the beginnings of a larger trend,” said Cilluffo, the director of the McCrary Institute for Cyber and Critical Infrastructure Security…

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Woman Shot After Opening Fire Inside Dallas Love Field Airport – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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What to Know

  • Gunfire was reported inside Dallas Love Field Airport just after 11 a.m.
  • A woman was transported from the scene by Dallas Fire-Rescue after police say she fired several rounds inside the airport.
  • Rockwall Chief of Police Max Geron was in the TSA security line and told NBC 5 he heard several shots near a ticket counter.

A woman pulled out a gun inside Dallas Love Field Airport late Monday morning and began shooting toward the ceiling, Dallas police say. The woman, who witnesses said was yelling about her marriage, was confronted and shot by officers. No other injuries have been reported.

Dallas Chief of Police Eddie Garcia said the woman, identified only as a 37-year-old, was dropped off at the airport just before 11 a.m. and that once inside she went into a restroom and changed clothes.

Garcia said the woman exited the restroom wearing a hoody or something other than what she arrived in, pulled out a gun and started firing several shots. Most of the shots, Garcia said, appeared to be directed toward the ceiling.

“At this point, we don’t know where exactly the individual was aiming. From what we are seeing she was aiming at the ceiling,” Garcia said. ” There are several rounds that were found.”

Officers inside the airport confronted the woman and shot her in her lower extremities. The woman was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital in an unknown condition. No further information about her or the motivation behind the shooting or who dropped her off at the airport has been confirmed by police.

Cell phone video shared with NBC 5 showed travelers on the ground, behind chairs at the gates and sheltering in place while the shooting unfolded.

The investigation is ongoing and Garcia said he expects elements to change as more is learned about what happened. Dallas Police said they do not plan to release any other statements until Tuesday afternoon. Agents with the Dallas FBI’s field office were seen at the airport along with Dallas Police. The FAA told NBC 5 that the incident is a police matter.

WITNESS SAYS SHOOTER SAID HER HUSBAND WAS CHEATING

Colby James spoke with NBC 5 Monday afternoon and said he was standing near the woman when she pulled out a…

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