A Russian hacktivist group known as "KillNet" claimed responsibility for large-scale distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on websites of several major airports in the United States, according to multiple news outlets.
The DDoS attacks overwhelmed servers hosting these sites, making them inaccessible to travelers across the country who were looking to get updates on their scheduled flights or book airport services. The attacks did not delay any actual flights or cause other damages.
The airport victims include some of the largest air traffic hubs in the country, such as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Here is a screenshot of ATL's website this morning, courtesy of Bleeping Computer:
Other airports included Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Orlando International Airport (MCO), Denver International Airport (DIA), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), along with some in Kentucky, Mississippi, and Hawaii.
It appears as though all of these websites have been restored since the attack earlier this morning.
Yesterday, the KillNet group listed domains on its Telegram channel, indicating that they would soon be targeted:
KillNet has been known to target any country, organization, or individual that has sided with Ukraine in the ongoing war with Russia. Over this past weekend, an explosion severely damaged a critical bridge in Crimea, so it's possible that the attacks on the airports were retaliatory.
Senator Chuck Schumer was asked about the possible connection:
"We are pretty clear it's a Russian cyber group that claimed responsibility. We are asking our authorities to confirm who did it and then take the appropriate strong action so the Russians know they cannot get away with this. Putin has a lot of nerve, after his brutal vicious war against the Ukrainian people, to now say he has the right to retaliate because they protected themselves with a bridge is outrageous."
