Cyber ​​attack cancels over 40 flights for Russian airline Aeroflot

Russian national airline Aeroflot was hit by a widespread cyber attack today, Monday, leading to the cancellation of over 40 flights, mostly within Russia, as well as flights to Minsk and Yerevan. The incident occurred during the peak holiday season, causing disruptions at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow, where departure screens turned red with consecutive flight cancellations.

Aeroflot announced that the malfunction was due to a failure in its information systems, without specifying the duration needed to fix the issue. There was no immediate comment from the Ministry of Transport or the Russian aviation authority.

The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the initial information was "extremely worrying" and that the threat of cyber attacks remains for all major companies providing services to the population. He added: "We are monitoring the information circulating in the public domain and will await the necessary clarifications".

Later on, the Russian Prosecutor's Office announced the opening of a criminal investigation into the incident, confirming that it was a result of a cyber breach.

A group calling itself "Silent Crow" claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that it was carried out in collaboration with the Belarusian group "Cyberpartisans BY" in an operation they said took a whole year, linking it to the war in Ukraine. Their statement read: "Glory to Ukraine! Long live Belarus!" without independent verification of its accuracy.