Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot has been hit by a devastating cyberattack that forced the cancellation of over 60 flights and caused widespread delays across its network. The attack has severely disrupted operations at the country’s largest carrier, which serves 104 destinations with a fleet of 171 aircraft.
## Hacktivist Groups Claim Responsibility
Ukrainian and Belarusian hacktivist collectives “Silent Crow” and “Cyberpartisans BY” have claimed responsibility for the attack. These groups are known for previous operations against Belarusian infrastructure that supported Russian military movements into Ukraine.
According to their statements on social media platforms, the hackers spent over a year infiltrating and mapping Aeroflot’s IT infrastructure before launching their destructive attack.
## Scope of the Alleged Breach
The hacktivist groups claim to have compromised extensive systems, including:
– 122 hypervisors
– 43 ZVIRT virtualization installations
– Approximately 100 server management interfaces
– Four Proxmox clusters
During their alleged year-long access, the hackers say they extracted sensitive data including flight histories, employee workstation data, executive information, phone call recordings, and personnel monitoring systems.
## Massive Data Destruction Claims
On the day of the attack, the groups claim to have wiped:
– 7,000 physical and virtual servers
– 12TB of databases
– 8TB of Windows Share files
– 2TB of corporate email data
The hacktivists have threatened to publish all stolen data, warning it will expose information about Russian passengers who have flown with Aeroflot.
## Impact on Operations
While Aeroflot has not officially confirmed the data breach or destruction, the airline’s severe operational disruptions suggest a significant cyberattack occurred. The company, which is 74% government-owned and carried over 55 million passengers last year, continues to experience flight cancellations and delays. Some flights are reportedly operating without computer system support.
## Pattern of Cyber Warfare
This attack follows previous Ukrainian cyber operations against Russian aviation infrastructure. In November 2023, Ukraine’s military intelligence claimed to have hacked Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, exposing the impact of international sanctions on the country’s aviation sector.
The incident highlights the ongoing cyber warfare component of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with critical infrastructure increasingly becoming a target for hacktivist groups supporting Ukraine’s cause.