SAS Suffers Second Cyberattack This Year
Monday, 29 May 2023
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) was hit by a cyberattack on Wednesday, bringing its app and website offline for almost a full day. Anonymous Sudan claimed responsibility, demanding a ransom of $175,000.
Notably, this isn't the first time that SAS has been hit by a cyberattack. Back in February, Anonymous Sudan exfiltrated customer data and left the IT systems in such a state that customers were getting logged into other customers' accounts, rather than their own. Passengers were able to see one another's personal data, including names, addresses, credit card information, and flight history.
Even though the airline created a team to handle cybersecurity in response to the February incident, they fell victim to a secondary attack just three months later.
Twitter users reported that they were experiencing issues with the SAS systems around 12.30 BST, with many mentioning that they could not log into their accounts. Others couldn't even access the SAS website itself. Passengers were unable to check in or print boarding passes online, being forced to check in manually at the airport.
The carrier responded to the outage online by simply stating that they're "having technical issues right now and we're working on a solution. Please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience."
@JoebstlR Hi, we're having technical issues right now and we're working on a solution. Please try again later.
— SAS - Scandinavian Airlines (@SAS) May 24, 2023
We apologize for any inconvenience.
Kind regards, Mikael.
Despite mention of "technical issues", it was revealed that the issue was indeed a cyberattack rather than an IT systems failure. Anonymous Sudan was swift to demand a ransom of $175,000 in exchange for full restoration of the SAS services. While SAS has insurance against cyberattacks, it is unclear whether or not the ransom was paid.
Attacks on the aviation industry are nothing new. In the past year alone, TAP Air Portugal, American Airlines, airports in Germany and the US, and dozens of others have been targeted by hackers. The industry is working hard to strengthen their online security, but aviation will always remain a popular target for hackers.
