Hackers attacked U.S. airports

Websites of several major U.S. airports became the target of cyberattacks on Monday, the source of which is in Russia.

The attacks did not affect the systems responsible for air traffic control and flight safety. They partially or completely blocked access to airports’ sites, including information on arrivals and departures, for a time. The first target of the attacks was New York’s La Guardia airport, then the attacks spread to airports in Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Des Moines.

John Hulquist of cybersecurity firm Mandiant told ABC that a group of Russian hackers called Killnet was most likely behind the attack. According to him, there is no evidence that Russian authorities were involved in organizing the attacks. The Killnet group became known after the Russian invasion of Ukraine for attacks on computer systems in Ukraine’s allies. More recently, it has taken responsibility for attacks on U.S. government websites.

“At this point, these attacks have done no damage, but we are monitoring them closely,” said a federal transportation security spokesman.

Chuck Schumer, head of the Democratic caucus in the Senate, believes the attacks are a reaction to the Kerch Bridge bombing. “We are asking our authorities to confirm information about who is behind these attacks and then to take appropriate decisive action so that the Russians know they can’t get away with this,” Senator Schumer said.